BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Kyle Donohoe (Victor, N.Y.) recorded 12 kills and hit .524 to lead three players in double figures for kills as the fifth-ranked University of California Santa Cruz men's volleyball team defeated 13th-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0, in non-conference action Friday afternoon.
With the win the Banana Slugs improve to 20-6 on the season while the Leopards fall to 13-6.
Wentworth took three, three-point leads in the opening set with the third coming on a kill from sophomore Xhuljo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) which made it 7-4. UC Santa Cruz used a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 lead on a senior Ryan Manley (Cupertino, Calif.) kill and extended its lead to 12-9 after a kill from Donohoe. The Leopards came back and tied the set at 15-all on an attack error before the Banana Slugs used a 5-1 spurt to take a 20-16 lead on a kill from Donohoe. The Leopards scored the next three points, capped off by a kill from freshman Sean Spencer (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.). Back-to-back kills from Manley made it 22-19 and UC Santa Cruz took the first set, 25-21. Manley hit .667 (6-0-9) and Donohoe had five kills as the visitors hit .438. Senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mas.) had three kills for Wentworth.
Six ties opened the second set before a kill from junior Raymond Cascio (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and an ace from Manley gave the Banana Slugs a 10-8 lead. The Leopards came back and tied the set at 9-all on a kill from sophomore Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.). UC Santa Cruz took a 14-11 lead after an attack error and extended its lead to 20-13 after Manley served an ace. Wentworth trimmed the lead to 21-16 as Ritter had a kill and a solo block and pulled within five again on a Zyba kill. A kill from senior Lake Merchen (Clovis, Calif.) and an attack error put the Banana Slugs up 2-0 with a 25-18 win in the second set. Manley hit .714 (5-0-7) and Merchen had four kills as UC Santa Cruz hit .560 in the frame. Zyba paced the Leopards with four kills.
A pair of Wentworth attack errors gave UC Santa Cruz a quick, 2-0 lead before a kill from Ritter and an attack error evened the score at 2-all. The set was tied at 3-all and 4-all before the Banana Slugs took an 8-4 lead after a block from junior Justin Fortner (Santa Clarita, Calif.). before a pair of errors brought Wentworth to within a pair at 8-6. The Banana Slugs responded with three straight points, taking an 11-6 lead on a Leopard attack error and took a 14-8 lead on a kill from Donohoe. Ritter put down a kill and Zyba and senir Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) teamed up on a block to make it 14-10. Oshman and Engle teamed up for a block to make it 15-11, however, the Banana Slugs scored three straight points to make it 18-11. Wentworth chipped away at the lead and made it 18-15, thanks in part to a pair of aces from Oshman. Out of a timeout, UC Santa Cruz scored six straight points to make it 24-15, however a service error ended the match, 25-16. Donohoe had five kills in the set while Merchen added four. Sophomore Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) had four kills for Wentworth while Ritter had three.
In addition to Donohoe's 12 kills, Manley had 11 kills and three aces and Merchen had 10 kills, two aces, and 10 digs. Senior Evan Kittle (Nevada City, Calif.) had 33 assists in the win. UC Santa Cruz hit .410 as a team.
Ritter led the Leopards with seven kills and 10 assists. Love had six kills, Oshman had five kills, two aces, and two blocks, sophomore Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (San Juan, P.R.) had 14 assists, and freshman Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.) had eight digs.
Wentworth is idle until playing in the Alvernia Invitational March 9-10.
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