BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Sam Pisker's (Mullica Hill, N.J.)10 kills, four digs and three aces led the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Emmanuel in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. The win snapped a 13-match losing streak for the Leopards against the Saints as the Black & Gold picked up their first win over their Colleges of the Fenway rival since January 21, 2006.
With the win Wentworth, ranked sixth in the east region in the latest NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Rankings, runs its win streak to eight matches and improves to 23-7 overall and 12-2 in GNAC play. The Saints saw their five-match win streak come to an end and fall to 15-10 (10-4). Wentworth also clinches the number two seed in the upcoming GNAC playoffs and earns a first-round bye.
The two teams split the first 10 points and set one was tied at five a side. Senior Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) gave the Leopards an 8-6 lead with back-to-back kills from the middle. However, Emmanuel struck right back by taking three of the next four points to take a 10-9 lead behind an ace from junior Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.). Sophomore Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) broke a 13-13 tie with a block of Mann, but a service error would tie the game back up at 14 a side. Senior Ross Burdett (Needhman, Mass.) then stepped to the line and helped give the Leopards a 17-15 lead. After a Wentworth error, Pisker gave Wentworth an 18-16 lead with a block on the right side.
Wentworth would extend its lead to 21-17 behind the serving of Pisker. The Saints would take the next two points to get within two at 21-19, but junior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) finished a kill to give the Leopards a 22-19 advantage. Burdett then pushed the Saints to the brink with a kill from the left side, but Emmanuel scored the next two points and forced a timeout with the score 24-22. Burdett finished the match with another kill and the set ended 25-22.
Set two began with the match tied at three after a pair of junior Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) kills. Freshman Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) then gave the Leopards a 4-3 lead with a kill from deep in the Wentworth zone. Mann would break a 5-5 tie with a block of Jackson and gave Wentworth a 6-5 advantage. Reed then broke an 8-8 draw with a kill from the right side, but junior Ryan Kessler (Santa Clarita, Calif.) responded with a kill of his own to tie the game at 9-all. After Kessler's kill, the Saints would take the next three points to gain a 12-9 lead. Wentworth would get within one after a Reed ace but an error by Burdett gave Emmanuel another three point lead at 14-11. After a Wentworth timeout the teams would split the next six points and the Saints would maintain a three point lead 17-14 lead.
The Saints would then benefit from a pair of Wentworth errors and extend their lead to 19-14. Pisker stepped to the service line with his team trailing 21-16 and lead the Leopards to three straight points to get back within three at 21-19. Pisker then missed long, but Burdett beat the Saint defense to make the score 22-20. After McGarry made the score 24-22, Wentworth got within one, but the Saints finished the set with a kill and won 25-23.
After the teams split the first 16 points in the third set, the Leopards went on a 3-0 spurt to take an 11-8 lead and force an Emmanuel timeout. After the timeout, the teams went back-and-forth on the next six points and the Leopards kept their three point advantage, 14-11. A Pisker block then gave the Black & Gold their biggest lead at 15-11.
Emmanuel responded by taking three of the next four points to get within two at 16-14 but freshman Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) blocked a kill attempt to give the Leopards a 17-14 lead. Donahue would extend the Wentworth lead to 20-16 with a kill and force another Emmanuel timeout. After the stoppage, the Saints scored the next two points, but Wentworth kept a three point lead at 22-19, with a Burdett kill. With the score 24-21, freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) ended the game with an ace, 25-21.
Pisker opened the fourth set on the service line and nailed back-to-back aces to give the Leopards a 4-0 lead. After a pair of Emmanuel points Donahue extended the Wentworth lead to 5-2 with a block. Emmanuel would bounce back to tie the set at seven after a Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) block which forced a Wentworth timeout. Following the timeout, Wentworth took seven of the next 12 points to take a 14-12 lead. But the Saints battled back and scored the next three points to take their first lead of the set, 15-14. The Saints would extend the lead to 16-14, but a Burdett kill followed by a Pisker block tied the game at 16 a side.
The Saints then took the next two points, but the Leopards responded with the next four to take a 20-18 lead. Wentworth would take four of the next five points to extend its lead to 24-19 after a Reed block. Emmanuel scored the next two points but Donahue ended the match, 25-21 with a kill.
Burdett was the only other Leopard with double-digit kills; he added 12 to go along with two digs and an ace. Donahue added nine kills, while Reed finished with eight and two digs. Ritter tallied 36 assists to go along with six digs and an ace.
Kessler and classmate Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.) finished with 11 kills each and combined for 12 digs, four blocks and an ace. Jackson added 10 kills to go along with his three digs and three blocks. McGarry had eight kills and five block assists in the loss. Junior Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) had 40 assists and sophomore Ernie Gurule (Los Angeles, Calif.) had 17 digs.
Wentworth closes out the regular season by hosting a tri-match on Saturday against Rivier and Anna Maria while Emmanuel travels to Johnson & Wales to play a tri-match against Mt. Ida and Johnson & Wales.