New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College men's volleyball team fell to visiting Lasell, 3-0, on Tuesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Nest inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center. The Lasers snapped a two-game skid with a 25-15, 25-11, and 25-19 triumph.
With their second setback in a row, the Falcons move to 5-5 on the year and 0-3 in league play, while Lasell improved to 10-9 overall and remained a perfect 6-0 in conference matches.
Senior outside hitter Justin Tharau (Burlington, Conn.) paced the AMC attack with 10 kills, while junior middle hitter Josh Turner (Trumbull, Conn.) added five of his own. In defeat, freshman setter Jeremy Ortiz (Bridgeport, Conn.) dished out 19 assists for the hosts. Defensively, Tharau had a team-high eight digs and Turner added two blocks.
Junior middle hitter Tristan Davis led the charge for Lasell with a game-high 11 kills and seven service aces. Classmate Patrick MacDonaold and senior outside hitter Ryan Jackson both recorded seven kills apiece for the Lasers. Junior William Gold was efficient at the net for the guests, registering four kills and an impressive .571 attack percentage. In the middle, senior setter Andrew Glenn had 27 assists.
In the first game, the visitors used a 14-3 run midway through the frame to pull away as MacDonald gave the Lasers an 18-7 edge with a kill. Albertus would pull to within eight at 20-12 following a Lasell attack error, but the Lasers would tighten up late to take a 1-0 edge courtesy of a kill from freshman Nathan Gallo.
Lasell reeled off six straight points in the second set to turn an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 edge. The Falcons would make it a six-point game at 16-10 after a Laser attack error. Once again, the visitors would answer and run off nine of the final 10 points to hold a 2-0 lead.
In the final frame, Lasell squashed out a late Falcon rally with the final three points to earn their sixth league win of the year.
As a team, Albertus Magnus recorded 21 kills, 26 digs and four blocks. On the opposite side, Lasell amassed 37 kills, 12 service aces and 28 digs.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Saturday, March 5, with a home conference clash against Emerson at 12:00 pm at the Nest.
For the latest information on the men's volleyball team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.