NEWTON, Mass. – Manhattanville University men's volleyball fell to Lasell University in three sets in the first match between the Valiants and Lasers. Manhattanville falls to 1-4 while Lasell improves to 9-3.

Joe Gandarillas (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem HS East) (9) and Kyle Simmons (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) (8) led the offensive effort for the Valiants, sending down a combined 17 kills throughout the three sets. Simmons also sat second in the match, receiving five digs.
Sending out 20 of the team's 21 assists on the day, Luca Peterson (Boston, Mass./Newton North) continues to find his teammates around the court. Matt Diamond (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) fronted the defensive side, receiving six digs in two sets played.
Lasell was carried to victory by Cole Esterline and Paten Buckwalter with seven kills respectively and by Trystan Maloney, who threw out 27 of the team's 30 assists.

The home team jumped to an early lead in set one, reaching 10-3 before the first round of substitutions entered the game. The Vals sent down seven kills but were held to just 11 points while Lasell took the first set.
In set two, the Valiants jumped out for an early lead, 9-5. Behind kills from Gandarillas, the score remained in the away team's favor, 15-12. A pair of kills and a pair of blocks allowed the Lasers to grab a slight lead of 17-15 before scoring opportunities were passed between both sides of the net. After regaining the lead 21-19, the home team went on a stretch to take set two 25-21.
Manhattanville kept set three in reach, finding even ground at 2, 11, and 13 before Lasell went on to grab a lead of 22-15. The final set ended with back-and-forth scoring before the final score of 25-18 was established.

Up Next – The Valiants head to Dallas, PA, to face Buffalo State College and Misericordia University in the Misericordia Tri-Match on Saturday, Feb 14. The first game is set for 1 PM and the second outing for 3 PM.