BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Trevor Mattson (Redland, Calif.) had 15 kills and hit .667 and classmate Luis Vega (Corozal, P.R.) had 15 kills and hit .480 as the top-ranked Springfield College men's volleyball team defeated fifth-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0, in non-conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Pride pick up their 11th straight win, improving to 11-1 on the season while the Leopards fall to 7-3. This was the Black & Gold's fourth match this season against a nationally ranked opponent.
The opening set featured seven ties and a pair of lead changes as Wentworth jumped out to a 6-3 lead after a kills from senior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.). The Leopards increased their lead to 10-6 on a junior Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) ace, however Springfield scored seven of the next 10 points to even the score at 13-all. After a ball handling error made it 18-15 in favor of the hosts, the Pride went on a 7-1 run and took the lead for good at 22-20 before taking the first set, 25-22. Potts had three kills for Wentworth in the set. Springfield hit .533 in the set, recording 20 kills on 30 swings with four errors.
Despite a pair of ties early in the second set, Springfield used a 15-5 run to break a 4-4 deadlock and take a 19-9 lead before claiming the set, 25-12. The Pride hit .600 in the set (12-0-20). Senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) had three kills in the set while Potts and classmate Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) had two kills each.
Springfield raced out to a 5-0 lead in the third set, however the Leopards cut the lead to 12-10 on a junior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) kill. Wentworth pulled back within a pair on three different occasions before a 6-2 run extended the lead to 23-17 and the visitors closed out the match by winning, 25-20. Springfield hit .519 in the set while the Leopards hit a match-best .304.
Potts paced the Leopards with eight kills while Reed added seven. Roat had three kills, two aces, and six digs, Hansen had three kills and two blocks, and Oshman finished with three kills. Junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 20 assists for Wentworth.
The Leopards hosts Johnson & Wales and Newbury in a tri-match on Saturday.
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