SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches against nationally ranked foes at a tri-match hosted by Springfield, College. Wentworth fell to No. 13 Baruch, 3-1, before being swept by the third-ranked Pride, 3-0. In the middle match, Springfield defeated Baruch, 3-2.
No. 13 Baruch 3, Wentworth 1
The Leopards got off to a slow start, hitting .000 in the opening set and allowing the Bearcats to hit .524 with just one error on 21 swings as Wentworth fell, 25-12. Seniors Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) and Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) paced the Black & Gold in the opening frame as Burdett had four of his team's kills and Buonincontra had five digs.
Wentworth held early leads of 7-5 and 9-7 in the second set before a 6-1 run gave Baruch a 13-10 lead. The Bearcats were aided by three Leopard errors during their run. Two kills by senior Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) sandwiched around an ace from freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) knotted the score at 13-all and the set remained close until three straight Leopard errors extended Baruch's lead to 21-17. Wentworth closed the gap to 24-22, however a service error gave Baruch a 25-22 win. Mann and Burdett had five and three kills, respectively, while Buonincontra had six digs.
Needing a win to keep the match alive, the Leopards kept pace with the Bearcats until opening a 14-10 lead after Ritter and junior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) combined for a block. Baruch rallied to tie the set at 17-all and it would be tied at 18, 19, and 21-all before a Donahue kill gave Wentworth a 22-21 lead. The Leopards held a 24-22 lead before a Bearcat kill cut the lead to one. However, a Mann kill ended the set and extended the match. Mann and freshman Sam Pisker (Mullica Hill, N.J.) had three kills apiece, freshman Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) had two aces, and Donahue had two blocks.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle that saw 20 ties and five lead changes. Wentworth held a 15-12 lead before Baruch scored five of the next seven points to take a 17-15 lead. Neither team would hold a lead larger than one point and the Leopards had set point at 24-23 after a Donahue kill. However, the Bearcats tie the match at 24-all with a kill of their own. The teams went point-for-point and a Pisker kill would make it 27-all. However, a pair of Leopard errors gave Baruch a 29-27 set win to close out the match. Pisker had seven kills in the fifth set with Donahue and Burdett added four each. Donahue also had three blocks.
Burdett led three Leopards who had 10 of more kills as he had a team-high 13. Pisker added 11 kills and two aces and Mann had 10 kills and two blocks. Donahue chipped in with nine kills and six blocks, Reed had seven kills and three aces, Buonincontra had 15 digs, and Ritter had 45 assists, two aces, and nine digs.
No. 3 Springfield 3, Wentworth 0
The Pride took a 25-17 win in the opening set, setting the stage for the 3-0 sweep. In the opening set there were four ties, most recently at 4-all before Springfield used an 8-3 run to take a 12-7 lead. The Pride would lead by as many as 10 at one point before the final margin of eight. Burdett had five kills in the first set while Pisker added three. Ritter had five digs.
After the score was tied at 3-all to open the second set, Springfield used a 7-0 run to make it a 10-3 score and never looked back, taking a 25-11 victory. The Pride hit .688 for the set with zero errors on 16 total swings. Pisker had four kills for the Black & Gold with Donahue, Burdett, and freshman Alex Potts (Nierville, N.Y.) recording two each.
Springfield closed out the match with a 25-15 win in the third set. Wentworth held a 6-3 lead in the early going, however a 10-3 spurt by the Pride gave the hosts the lead for good. Reed had three kills in the set with Potts adding two of his own and Ritter recording three digs.
Pisker and Burdett had eight kills apiece to pace the Leopards. Reed had three blocks and Ritter had 26 assists and nine digs.
The Leopards are idle until March 14-15 when they participate in the Johnson & Wales Invitational.