Four Players Register Double-Digit Kills as Men’s Volleyball Downs Lasell College, 3-1

NEWTON, Mass. – Elms College freshman middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) smashed a match-high 18 kills to lead four Blazers with double-digit kills, while sophomore setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 52 assists to help secure a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21) win over Lasell College in Friday evening's non-conference men's volleyball match at Lasell Athletic Center.

With the win, Elms improves to 12-5 on the season, while Lasell slips to 7-7 overall.

Trailing 24-21 in the opening set, Castro registered back-to-back kills to pull Elms to within one at 24-23, but a kill by Lasell's Alex Mill (Danville, N.H.) allowed the Lasers to stake a 1-0 lead in the contest.

Following its stumble in the opening frame, the Blazers roared back to win the next three sets and post a 3-1 victory in the match.

In the second stanza, Elms cruised to a 20-14 lead and scored five consecutive points on the strength of two kills by sophomore middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) and one each from Castro and senior outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) to claim a 25-14 set two win and even the match at 1-1.

In the third set, Lasell's Matt Dugan (New Lenox, Ill.) struck for a kill to pull the Lasers to within four at 22-18 before Elms' junior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) pounded a kill and Lasell's Tim Anderson (Danville, N.H.) notched a solo block to keep the score at a four-point differential (23-19). From there, Cameron swatted a kill and served up an ace to give the Blazers a 2-1 lead in the contest.

In the fourth frame, neither team held more than a four-point advantage and the Blazers led for the majority of the set and clung to a 23-21 lead before Castro and senior outside hitter Carlos DeLeon (Carolina, Puerto Rico) smashed back-to-back kills to seal the win for the Blazers.

Castro added nine digs to his 18-kill effort, while Cameron finished with 15 kills and a match-high 17 digs and a match-best five aces to help pace Elms to victory.

DeLeon added 12 kills and 14 digs, while Rainey totaled 11 kills, seven digs and notched two solo blocks and assisted on four others in the winning effort.

Mill led the Lasers in the loss, notching 11 kills, while Dugan handed out 21 assists. Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) chipped in 13 digs, while Vincent Ithier (Newington, Conn.) followed with 12 digs.

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Wednesday, March 21 when it hosts Endicott College at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.