The women's volleyball team began their busy Saturday inside the Athletic Center with a dominant win over the Elms College Blazers by a score of 3-0.
The Lasers came out of the gates strong offensively with three early aces, two from middle blocker Juliana Medini and the other from outside hitter McKenna McCool. The Blazers kept their composure early, however, playing with tons of energy and gaining confidence with every next ball hit their way. The Lasers struggled to shake their opponent, but the strong offensive attack of Coach Jeff Vautrin's squad inevitably became too much to contain.
Lasers celebrate after winning a point during their tri-match on Saturday
Photo by Joe Giacco
With the Blazers leading by one, first-year middle blocker Victoria Pariseault delivered a vicious kill right into enemy territory to knot the score up at 9. This would prove to be the turning point of the first set, as the Lasers would go on a 4-0 run following the big kill. After Elms Head Coach Torie Howdeshell called a timeout, McCool answered with two straight aces, while outside hitter Emily VanHouten put away the first set with a kill and a filthy two-handed rejection straight into the hardwood.
The Lasers started the second set as they did the first, coming out the gates strong offensively and charged up with energy. Despite quickly going up 10-5, service errors gave the Blazers a spark of life. Nonetheless, libero Maddie Caro would soon erase all hope that lay with the visitors, as she delivered three straight aces. The Lasers would end the second set on a 9-1 run, and take it by a score of 25-13.
The third and final set was all Lasers. From the first point on, they did not look back. Medini’s two straight services gave the Lasers their 14th and 15th aces of the match, while Pariseault took over the reins of the Laser’s offense, earning six kills in the span of seven plays. To top it all off, outside hitter Camila Lopez conducted the final strike into the heart of the Blazers, as they won 25-7.
After the game, Pariseault said it is the support of her teammates that drives her to keep getting better every game during the season.
“We really are just one big family,” said Pariseault. “Hearing them make up a whole new cheer just for me was so exciting and it made me feel very happy. I love them all so much.”
Pariseault added she did not expect to see much playing time this season as a first-year, but was glad that she had the opportunity to showcase her talent.
“There are so many talented girls on this team,” said Pariseault. “Just going in [the game] was enough for me.”
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