BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) recorded 12 kills and served three aces to help the seventh-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over 10th-ranked Rivier in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action Monday night at Tansey Gymnasium.
Winners of four straight the Leopards improve to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in GNAC while the Raiders see their six-match win streak come to an end, falling to 9-6 (1-1).
The first set saw 13 ties and four lead changes as the teams went pretty much point-for-point in the early going. The Leopards took a 10-8 lead on a junior Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) ace, however Rivier scored three straight to take an 11-10 lead on a senior Matt LaSance (Madison, Conn.) kill. Mullen evened the score on a kill and the teams were neck and neck until two straight kills from senior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) and a block from junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) gave Wentworth a 21-18 lead. Rivier narrowed the gap to 22-20 after a service error, however three straight Wentworth points gave the hosts a 25-20 win. The Leopards, who hit .448 in the set, were paced by four kills on four swings from junior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) while Reed and Potts each added four kills. Potts hit .500 (4-0-8) in the frame. Rivier senior Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) had four kills on seven swings without an error.
Wentworth hit .458 in the second set behind six kills from Reed and four kills (4-0-6) from Potts. The Leopards took the lead for good on a senior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) kill at 9-8 and increased their lead to 11-8 after a pair of Raider errors. A Wentworth attack error made it 11-9, however a 3-1 spurt, capped off by a Potts kill made it 14-10. Rivier recorded back-to-back points to slice the lead in half and force Wentworth into calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Leopards scored five of the next seven points and extended their lead to 19-14 after a Potts kill. The Raiders used a 6-2 spurt to make it a 21-20 score after an attack error, and trailed again, 22-21, however three straight Wentworth points closed out the set at 25-21. Wolski had four kills for Rivier in the set.
Rivier took an early 6-3 lead in the third set after a junior Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) service ace. Three straight points, highlighted by kills from Reed and Potts, evened the score at 6-all and the teams were tied four more times before the visitors took a 12-10 lead. A Reed kill and and an attack error evened the score at 12-all and a Reed ace eventually gave Wentworth a 15-14. This point came early in a 5-0 run which saw the hosts take an 18-14 lead after a ball handling error. The Leopards extended their lead to 22-15 after an attack error before a pair of blocks made it 22-17. Rivier pulled back within five at 23-18, however Wentworth completed the sweep with a 25-19 win. Mullen had four kills in the set for the Black & Gold while Oshman and Hansen had two blocks apiece and Reed served two aces. Rivier hit -.037 in the frame.
Potts added 10 kills and six digs in the win while Mullen had eight kills and seven digs. Oshman finished with five kills and four blocks and Hansen had three kills and two blocks. Senior Mike Rogachefsky (Rochester, N.Y.) had 11 digs. Junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 37 assists.
Wolski led Rivier with nine kills and a pair of blocks while Andler had five kills and three aces. LaSance had 23 assists on the night.
Both teams are in action tomorrow night as Wentworth is at Emerson (match to be played at Suffolk) and Rivier is at Mount Ida.
For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
