The women’s volleyball team took down the Monks of Saint Joseph’s College Maine Saturday afternoon in game two of a double-header at home in the Athletic Center. It took just three sets for the Lasers to dismantle the visitors and avenge their game one loss to Regis College.
“It felt really great to come back after such a tough loss,” said sophomore captain Madalyn Scully. “All of the girls were super receptive to the captains’ and the coaching staff’s feedback [after the loss] and it ended up paying off.”
The Lasers started the first set on fire, scoring eight unanswered points until first-year Nadia Sixto ended the drought for the Monks with a kill.
With momentum on their side, the home team cruised through set one to a 25-10 win. Lasell looked lethal, tactical, and offensive— but did so with smiles on their faces.
“Team chemistry is something our roster has tried to work on really hard this season. Our coaching staff stresses the importance of trust and camaraderie between the girls,” said Scully. “We all have the same goal in mind when it comes to this season which allows us to have a lot of fun when we play.”
Much of the same occurred in set two; sophomores McKenna McCool, Juliana Medini, Camilla Lopez, and Emily VanHouten were sending spikes from above, a good portion of which ended in a point. The Monks were defenseless against the high-powered offense, and eventually fell 25-16 in set two.
On the scrambling side, first-years Maddie Caro and Sydney Katz impressed out of the middle— dishing and digging to ensure the majority of volleys would fall the way of the Lasers.
These saves proved to be crucial, as set three brought a change of pace. The Monks came out a different squad, linking together points to create a contentious closing set.
The set consisted of several lead changes and ties, all the way to the final points. At one point, with the Lasers down 20-19, McCool tallied back-to-back kills to put the Lasers back on top. She ended with 12 on the day, and remains the kill leader for the Lasers this season.
After a few more hard fought points, Medini hammered the final nail in the coffin with her tenth kill, ending the set and match 25-22. The Lasers improved their record to 5-1 in the Great Northeastern Athletic Conference (GNAC) with the win, placing them third in the standings.
“During preseason we all came up with team goals and one of them was to beat our initial ranking, 4th or better… not only are we playing to beat our ranking, but also to have home court advantage in postseason play. Everyday walking into the gym, whether it be a match or practice, the whole team knows how important it is to be focused,” said Scully.
The Lasers play next at home on Tuesday against Bay Path University at 7:00 p.m. for a non-conference matchup. Their next GNAC face-off will be at Emmanuel College on Oct 15 vs the Saints.