BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) recorded 10 kills and junior Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) chipped in with nine to help pace the seventh-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Emerson in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action played at Suffolk University.
Winners of four straight – three by 3-0 scores – the Leopards improve to 12-3 overall and remain perfect (4-0) in GNAC play. The Lions fall to 5-6 overall and are still seeking their first GNAC win at 0-2.
After the teams traded the first four points of the first set, Wentworth scored four straight points to take the lead for good, capped off by an ace from Potts. The teams went point-for-point for the next four with a junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) kill making it 8-4 and Ritter's kill ignited a 6-0 run to give the Black & Gold a 13-4 lead. Wentworth led by as many as 10 (20-10) after a ball handling error and captured the set, 25-17.
The Leopards hit a blistering .750 (16-1-20) in the second set, however had to play from behind early. After falling behind 4-2, Wentworth rolled off five straight points and took a 9-4 lead after a senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) kill. Emerson pulled within a pair at 9-7, but a 6-1 run which was capped off by a Mullen ace, made it 15-8. Out of a timeout, a service error halted the run but not for long as Wentworth scored the next five points to take a 20-9 lead and would take a 2-0 lead with a 25-13 win.
Wentworth clinched its eighth straight win in the series (and now leads 14-2 all-time) with a 25-21 win in the third set. Once again the Leopards fell behind early as the Lions took a 3-1 lead. Mullen tied the set with a kill and an ace; the first of four ties, including after a service error made it 6-6. That error started a 6-2 Wentworth run, giving the Leopards a12-8 lead after a senior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) block. Emerson pulled within a point at 14-13, however three straight points made it 17-13. The Lions pulled within a pair on two occasions, including at 18-16 but five of the next six points were scored by Wentworth to make it 23-17. The hosts had a comeback bid, scoring four of the next five to make it 24-21 but a service error ended the match.
In addition to his nine kills, Mullen had a pair of aces. Junior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had six kills and two blocks, Reed had five kills on eight swings without an error, and Hansen had three kills and three blocks. Ritter finished the match with 23 helpers and senior Mike Rogachefsky (Rochester, N.Y.) had nine kills.
Wentworth heads to Springfield on Saturday to face the top-ranked Pride for the second time this season and Hunter in a re-match of last year's NCAA First Round Tournament match, won by the Leopards, 3-0.
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