SALEM, Va. – In a battle of nationally ranked teams, sixth-ranked Southern Virginia defeated 11th-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0, in a quarterfinal round match of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament.

RECORDS:

• No. 11 Wentworth (8-2)
• No. 6 Southern Virginia (15-3)

No. 6 Southern Virginia 3, No. 11 Wentworth 0

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Ryan Engel, 8; David Marsh, 7; Ryan Love, 6; Jacob LaBouliere, 6
• Assists – Anthony Krzykowski, 30
• Aces – Colin Stockton, 1; Anthony Krzykowski 1
• Digs – Tyler Jack, 7
• Blocks – David Marsh 5, Colin Stockton, 4

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Southern Virginia came out of the gates firing, hitting .619 in the opening set. The lone tie of the set came at 1-all and, from there, the Knights went on a 7-2 run to take a 10-3 lead. Wentworth pulled to within five (14-9) after a senior David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) and freshman Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) block. Four straight Southern Virginia points led to a Leopard timeout, and out of the timeout, the teams traded points until the Knights scored the final two points of the set, winning 25-16. Graduate student Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.) had four kills and hit .419 in the set for the Black & Gold.
• Set two featured seven ties and five lead changes with Wentworth taking its first lead of the match at 5-4 after a Southern Virginia attack error and led 9-6 on a kill from Engel. Graduate student Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) put down a kill to make it 12-10, however, the Knights responded with an 8-2 run to take an 18-14 lead. LaBouliere ended the run with a kill, pulling Wentworth within three but Southern Virginia scored the next three points to go ahead, 22-15. A kill from Marsh brought the Black & Gold to 23-18, however, the Knights scored three of the final four points of the set and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 win. Engel had four kills in the set.
• Freshman Anthony Krzykowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) opened the third set with an ace and Wentworth led again, 3-2, after a service error. A 6-2 run put Southern Virginia ahead, 9-4, had three kills and made it 10-7. Wentworth pulled within a point on a pair of occasions, including when a sophomore Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) kill made it 15-14. The Knights used a 5-1 spurt to take a 20-15 lead after an ace, before Stockton had a kill to make it 20-16. The teams traded points until a Marsh kill made it 22-18. That was as close as the Leopards came as Southern Virginia completed the sweep with a 25-19 win. Marsh had four kills and hit .800 (4-0-5) in the set, while Stockton hit .600 (3-0-5).
• Engel finished the match with eight kills and two blocks while Marsh had seven and hit .545 (7-1-11) to go along with two blocks. Love and LaBouliere each had six kills. Krzykowski set 30 assists and senior Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.) had six digs.

THE SERIES:

• This was the first meeting between the two programs.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth concludes the 2021 season with an 8-3 record. This was the Leopards' third trip to the NCAA Tournament and the Black & Gold are 3-3 all-time, advancing to at least the quarterfinals in all three trips. The Black & Gold finish the season 2-1 against nationally ranked teams.

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