NEWTON, Mass. – The opening of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball schedule did not go as planned for Mount Ida College, as they dropped a pair of matches by 3-0 scorelines to host Lasell College and Emmanuel College.
The Mustangs drop to 2-8 (0-2 GNAC), while Lasell, who won both matches they played, advances to 8-4 overall and 4-0 in the GNAC, and the Saints split the afternoon to shift to 6-3, 1-1 GNAC.
Game Two: Emmanuel 3: Mount Ida: 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19)
Senior Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.) tallied a game-high 11 kills on 23 attempts (.425%) for 14.5 points in the second match of the afternoon. Freshman Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) swung into nine kills, while Kevin Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) hit the floor for 10 digs.
For the Mustangs, junior Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) converted on nine attack attempts with four blocks for 11.5 points. Griffenkranz also tallied nine digs in the effort, while senior Jimmy Wessel (DeKalb, Ill.) dished out 11 assists.
After Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) swung into a kill off the hands of Gallegos, the Saints ran with the lead in set one for a 25-18 victory. Emmanuel carried its momentum into the second set, leading the Mustangs early 7-4 on a kill from Wingard. The Mustangs chipped away at the deficit as freshman TJ Nicholas (Shelton, Conn.) smashed the tying kill, 22-22, but a final service error awarded the Saints the 25-22 victory en route to the 3-0 takeover.
Game Three: Lasell: 3 Mount Ida: 0 (25-21, 25-7, 25-11)
Nicholas gave the Mustangs 6.5 points on five kills, while freshman Nate Gyampo (Providence, R.I.) swung into four kills for 5.5 points.
Junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) led the charge for Lasell in the final match of the afternoon with eight kills and four service aces for 14.5 of the game's points. Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) swung into seven kills on 12 attempts, and also served up four aces with four digs. Senior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) dished out 23 assists, while senior William Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) contributed with a team-high five digs.
Despite the outcome, the Mustangs hung tight to the Lasers for a majority of the first set. After Gold held service for three straight points (20-13), the Mustangs pestered away at the score to come within four points on a service error from Lasell. A trio of kills from MacDonald and a blast from Glenn awarded the home team the close set, 25-20.
In the closing sets of the league tri-match the Lasers held Mount Ida to just seven kills with 18 kills of their own to come out on top 25-7 and 25-11.
The Mustangs return to action on Tuesday, February 16 at MIT for a 7:00 p.m. match.