NEWTON, Mass. – The top two teams in the GNAC met Wednesday night on the volleyball court. A few points down the stretch went the way of Lasell College as the host beat the Johnson & Wales University men's volleyball team, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24).

Records:
Johnson & Wales: 6-10, 3-2 GNAC
Lasell: 9-7, 5-0 GNAC 

JWU Statistical Leaders:
Brendan Baker: 12 Kills, 2 Blocks
Kyle Eva: 13 Kills
Alex Seda: 10 Kills, 12 Digs

The Lead:
Both teams were evenly matched with Johnson & Wales holding a slight .240-to-.225 hitting percentage advantage. One area where the Lasers were better was the service line as they committed five fewer service errors.

Of Note:
A 9-0 run by Lasell blew open the first set, but from there the rest of the frames were highly contested. A JWU attack error in the second set tied the game at 23-23, but Ryan Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Brendan Baker (Providence, RI) came through with kills to win it for JWU. Set three was tied at 21, but the Wildcats committed four-straight errors down the stretch. JWU battled back to take a 23-22 lead in the fourth set, but two-straight errors and a LC block in the final five points finished the match.

Three different Wildcats reached double-digit kills, including two with season-highs. Middle blocker Kyle Eva (Charlestown, RI) topped JWU with a season-high 13 kills and a pair of aces. Up next was Baker with 12 winners.

Freshman Alex Seda recorded his first collegiate double-double with a season-high 10 kills and 12 digs. He's had nine or more kills in two of his last three matches.

Middle blocker Rakeem Malone (St. Thomas, USVI) had five blocks for his fourth-straight game with four or more rejections. Freshman setter Cameron Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 36 assists, seven digs and three blocks. 

Up Next
The Wildcats are on the road again Saturday when they travel to Wentworth for a 7 p.m. contest