DUDLEY, Mass. – Behind a potent offensive attack, in which the team hit at a .389 clip, the Nichols men's volleyball team took down No. 14 Lasell by a score of 3-1 on Thursday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center. The Bison earned their first win over a nationally ranked opponent in the program's five-year history by taking down the Lasers by set scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22. With the victory, Nichols advanced to 7-3 (0-0 NECC), while Lasell dropped to 4-4 (1-0 GNAC). 
 
The Bison trailed or were tied with Lasell over much of the opening set, but leading 22-21 late in the frame, kills by Jake Harasyko and Carlos Mercado helped put the set away. Dylan Urbanski's 14 assists in the first to pace Nichols' offense, as Mercado tacked on six kills.  
 
After Luis Martinez and Tanner Soracco notched back-to-back kills to put the Bison up 9-7, Lasell used its first timeout of the second set. Out of the timeout, Lasell would use a pair of Nichols' errors to tie the set at 9-apiece. Nichols would hold this lead until a Brenden Joyce service ace gave the Lasers a 17-16 advantage. The Bison would get close in the closing stages of the set, but the Lasers would prevail thanks to a Joyce kill on set point. 
 
In the third set, Martinez notched seven kills at a .636 clip to help the Bison take the set and take control of the match, 2-1. Nichols led by as much as five on multiple occasions in the third, notably when Mercado put away a ball set by Nicholas Basco to make it 17-12 and force Lasell into a timeout. 
 
Nichols controlled the fourth set for most of the way, leading the whole set up until a Lasell ace tied it up at 21. Back-to-back kills by Harasyko and Martinez followed by a Lasell attack error set the Bison up with a game point. Following a kill by the lasers, Soracco ended the match with his eighth kill of the game to give Nichols the win.
 
Mercado and Martinez led the way for the Bison with 16 kills each. Dylan Knapp had 12 kills and swung .688. Urbanski set up the Bison with 44 assists.
 
Nichols looks to continue its winning ways on Saturday, February 18 when they take on Sage and Rivier at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Nichols Athletic Center.