Men's Volleyball Competes Against Nationally Ranked Lasell

NEWTON, MA - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team opened the season Tuesday night at the nationally ranked Lasell University in a conference matchup.

BASICS

Score: Elms College 0 | No. 17 Lasell University 3

Records: Blazers 0-1, 0-1 (GNAC) | Lasers 1-0, 1-0 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lasers took an early lead in the first set, even with service aces from graduate students Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, CT), Collin Liedke (Newington, CT), and sophomore Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain) to help the Blazers narrow the lead, Lasell would win the set 25-14.

The second set would begin with 3-1 Elms lead off of a kill from Artero (assisted by Liedke), a second service ace from De Jesus, and a Lasell service error. The two sides would continue the set back and forth trading points, which included kills from first years John Bellafronte (Enfield, CT), Nick Uschmann (Agawam, MA), and De Jesus, ending with a 25-23 set in the Lasers' favor.

Lasell would continue their momentum in the third set, keeping Elms within an arm's distance from taking the lead. Bellafronte and De Jesus each had an additional service ace and multiple kills were made from the pair and Uschmann, but their efforts could not stop the Lasers from earning the set with a final score of 25-19.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Liedke and first year Sam Moreno (El Paso, TX) lead both sides in digs throughout the contest with 4.

• De Jesus would lead the Blazers with 5 kills and a .364 kill percentage.

UP NEXT: The Men's Volleyball team returns to action on the road on Thursday, January 18th at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts at 6:00 pm.

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