SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories on Saturday to improve to 12-2 on the season. The Leopards defeated Hunter, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-22) before upsetting defending national champion and No. 5 Springfield, 3-1 (25-15, 29-27, 18-25, 25-16).
Wentworth and Hunter battled through four ties and a pair of lead changes early before the Leopards took the lead for good on a sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) kill, 11-10. The Leopards would lead by as many as four on eight occasions, and closed the set on a senior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) kill. The Leopards hit .429 in the opening frame behind five kills apiece from Reed and Donahue.
The Leopards forced the Hawks to hit -.100 in the second set, leading wire to wire to take a 2-0 lead. As a team the Black & Gold hit .500, which included four kills on four swings from freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) and three kills each from freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) and Reed.
Looking to keep the match alive, Hunter held a 19-15 lead before Wentworth rolled off four straight points to tie the set at 19-all. The Hawks took advantage of a Leopard service error and then served an ace to lead, 21-19, and held a 22-20 lead before five straight Wentworth points closed out the match. Reed had four kills and three blocks in the set and Donahue also recorded four kills.
Reed finished the match with 12 kills, two aces, and five blocks while Donahue had 10 kills, three blocks, and hit .467. Sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) had six kills and three blocks, Roat finished with seven kills, and sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 38 assists and seven digs.
In the opening set against Springfield, the Leopards forced the Pride to hit -.037. The teams had four ties in the early stages, however a 6-2 Wentworth run – fueled by three Springfield attack errors – put the Leopards on top 10-4. Wentworth, which hit .367 in the set, wouldn't let the Pride close within any fewer than five points. Reed had four kills in the set with Roat and Potts adding three each.
Wentworth took a 2-0 lead in the match after a back-and-forth affair which featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. Springfield would take a 20-18 lead, however the Leopards quickly responded with three straight points to take a 21-20 lead on a Ritter kill. The Leopards had a chance to close the set out at 24-23, 25-24, and 26-25, before finding themselves trailing 27-26. A kill by Mullen was followed up by a Pride attack error and with Mullen serving Donahue nailed a kill to close out the set. Potts had five kills and two blocks in the set with Mullen and Donahue adding three each.
The hosts made it a 2-1 match in the third set as the Leopards were forced to a match-low .083 attack percentage and Springfield hit .417. The teams went back and forth to start the set and were tied 10-all before Springfield jumped ahead with a 5-1 spurt. Wentworth eventually closed the gap to 18-16, however Springfield scored seven of the match's final nine points to stay alive. Reed had three of the Leopards' eight kills in the set.
Wentworth jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the fourth set and led 15-11 after a point was awarded to the Leopards for the Pride being out of rotation. That point started an 8-2 run which gave the Leopards a 23-13 lead on an ace from Reed. Springfield scored the next two points to pull within eight, however a Mullen kill made it 24-15. Springfield pulled to 24-16 after a service error, but any hopes of a comeback were thwarted when Roat clinched the upset on a kill. Reed and Mullen had four kills each in the set.
Potts, Reed, and Mullen each recorded 11 kills in the win with Reed serving three aces and having four blocks and Potts registering five blocks. Roat had eight kills, 14 digs, and four blocks, Donahue had seven kills and four blocks, and Ritter, who moved into third place on the Leopards' all-time assist list, had 42 helpers, two aces, three blocks, and eight digs.
Wentworth hosts its fourth nationally ranked foe of the season next Saturday when No. 10 NYU comes to Tansey Gymnasium for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
April 18, 2015
Men's Volleyball Falls in ECAC Finals
April 13, 2015
Men's Volleyball Earns Top Seed in ECAC Tournament
April 9, 2015
Men's Volleyball's Tournament Run Halted by Lasell
April 7, 2015
Men's Volleyball Advances to GNAC Semifinals
April 4, 2015
Men's Volleyball Concludes Regular Season
April 2, 2015
Men's Volleyball Rolls Past Mount Ida
March 31, 2015
Men's Volleyball Falls to Rivier
March 28, 2015
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Tri-Match
March 24, 2015
Emmanuel Rallies Past Men's Volleyball
March 21, 2015
Men's Volleyball Takes Two GNAC Matches
March 14, 2015
Men's Volleyball Runs Win Streak to Three
March 9, 2015
Two Men's Volleyball Players Earn Weekly Honors
March 5, 2015
Men's Volleyball Wins Second Straight
February 28, 2015
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Newbury
February 26, 2015
Men's Volleyball Suffers Setback at Lasell
February 24, 2015
Reed Named ECAC North Region Player of the Week
February 23, 2015
Reed Named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week
February 23, 2015
Men's Volleyball Holds Off Johnson & Wales
February 21, 2015
Men's Volleyball Edged by NYU
February 17, 2015
Ritter Earns ECAC Honors
February 17, 2015
Men's Volleyball Cracks AVCA Top 15
February 16, 2015
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Weekly Awards For Second Straight Week
February 14, 2015
Men's Volleyball Beats Hunter, Upsets Springfield
February 10, 2015
Potts Named ECAC Player of the Week
February 9, 2015
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Weekly Awards
February 7, 2015
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Tri-Match
February 5, 2015
Men's Volleyball Picks Up Second Straight Win
February 3, 2015
Men's Volleyball Battles Past Lasell
February 3, 2015
ECAC Honors Ritter, Mullen With Weekly Awards
February 2, 2015
Ritter, Mullen Earn GNAC Weekly Honors
January 31, 2015
Men's Volleyball Splits at MIT Tri-Match
January 29, 2015
Men's Volleyball Opens Conference Play With Win
January 28, 2015
Potts Named ECAC Player of the Week
January 26, 2015
Potts, Mullen Earn GNAC Honors
January 24, 2015
Men's Volleyball Takes Second at Wildcat Invitational
January 23, 2015
Men's Volleyball Takes Two Matches at Wildcat Invitational
January 21, 2015
Men's Volleyball Opens Season With Sweep of Endicott
January 13, 2015
Men's Volleyball Picked to Finish Second in GNAC