On March 5, the men’s volleyball team faced the Emerson College Lions, narrowly winning in five sets, with the final set going down to the wire.
The first set featured an 18-13 lead in favor of the Lasers, and it appeared Lasell was in for a good night. Lasell took care of business in the first, 25-18, with first-year outside hitter Aidan Norris leading the team in kills.
The second set was met with much more retaliation by Emerson, as the visitors gained heavy momentum and jumped out to a 10-6 lead. This set never belonged to the Lasers, having made multiple uncharacteristic mistakes and eventually falling 25-19.
During the third set, the Lasers continued to play a step behind their opponent. The Lions, however, did not play as sharp as they did previously, and Lasell was able to gather momentum, inevitably taking the set 25-22.
Emerson stormed out of the gates with a different level of energy for the fourth set. While the Lasers’ offense was not stagnant, it was clear that the team would need to focus more if they wanted to overpower the Lions. The set was 13-12 Lasers before things went awry for the home team. The Lions’ sideline continued to roar after every hustle play until they closed out the fourth, 25-22.
As the fifth was approaching, both teams were ready to leave it all out on the court, but their attitudes were opposites. The Lions filled the Athletic Center with smiles, while the Lasers were all business. Back and forth it went, with both teams making it past the 15-point mark of the set. Thanks to some timely kills by juniors Theo Zaharewicz and Carter Phillips, the Lasers won 20-18.
The Lasers, now 8-8, will return to action on March 9 when they take on Stevenson at 3:00 p.m. and Stevens at 5:00 p.m. in a tri-match at Stevens Institute of Technology.