THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The #11 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team started their west coast trip with a pair of 3-0 victories over Baldwin-Wallace University and Cal-Lutheran.
Wentworth 3, Baldwin-Wallace 0
A pair of kills by sophomore Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) and one from sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) helped the Leopards win four straight to jump out to a 7-3 lead in the opening set. After Baldwin-Wallace pulled within two, LaBouliere picked up two more kills to extend it to a 13-8 lead for Wentworth. Following one more kill by Jack, sophomore Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) picked up a service ace and a kill, giving the Leopards a 17-10 advantage as they continued to build their lead. After Jack added an ace of his own, the Yellow Jackets charged back late. Baldwin-Wallace won five of six to pull within five points at 21-16. A kill by LaBouliere and a pair of attack errors late from the Yellow Jackets closed things out for Wentworth, who took a 25-19 win in the opener.
The Leopards jumped out to a commanding lead in the middle set, as three kills each by LaBouliere and Waga, two from freshman Dylan Burritt (Newbury Park, Calif.) and one from Jack gave Wentworth a 15-2 lead to start out. Baldwin-Wallace came back with a 6-2 run that cut their deficit to nine points, but LaBouliere and Waga came back with a kill each for the Leopards. Although the Yellow Jackets were eventually able to cut the Wentworth lead down to six points, another kill by Waga finished off the second set as the Leopards took a 25-15 win to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
Another strong start was in store for Wentworth in the third, as kills from Burritt and LaBouliere, coupled with a kill and an ace from Waga, gave the Leopards an 8-3 lead. After the lead was cut to four, Waga picked up two more kills, while LaBouliere and Burritt added one more apiece to make it a 15-8 score as Wentworth continued to roll. An ace by LaBouliere, combined with four errors from the Yellow Jackets, extended the lead to 22-12. Baldwin-Wallace could never close the gap and get back in the set, as the Leopards went on to win the third 25-16 and claim a 3-0 victory.
LaBouliere led all players with 11 kills and eight digs, while Waga picked up 10 kills. Sophomore Anthony Krzykowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 26 assists for the Leopards.
Wentworth 3, Cal-Lutheran 0
Waga continued his strong play to start the second match, as a pair of kills from the sophomore helped put Wentworth ahead 3-1 to start their second match. The Kingsmen came back by wining five of seven points, including a pair of kills by Jake Tucker (San Diego, Calif.) to take a 6-5 lead. Jack picked up a kill, while LaBouliere added two more to help the Leopards get even at eight. With the teams tied at 10, an ace by Burritt gave Wentworth the lead, but Cal-Lutheran came back with three straight to take a two point advantage. The teams went back and forth over the next several points, with LaBouliere coming through with three kill while Waga added another as the Kingsmen held a 17-15 lead. After the Leopards came back to tie it at 18-18, the home team responded with two straight to take the lead back and force a Wentworth timeout. Coming out of the break, three straight points were capped off by an ace from Waga, giving the Leopards a one point lead. With the score tied at 22, LaBouliere picked up back-to-back kills to create a set point for the visitors, and finished it off with another kill two points later as Wentworth took a 25-23 victory in the opener.
Waga and LaBouliere had two kills each early in the second set, as the Leopards took a 6-3 lead. An ace and kill by Waga made it an 8-4 score, and with Wentworth leading 9-6, the visitors went on an 8-2 run to take an 11-point lead. LaBouliere had four kills during the run, while Waga had two and freshman Nick Cebula (West Springfield, Mass.) added one. The Kingsmen were unable to narrow their deficit, and three more kills by Jack, combined with one each from LaBouliere and Waga, finished off the second set as the Leopards took a 25-13 win to go up by two sets.
Cal-Lutheran started hot in the third, taking a 6-2 lead as they aimed to get back in the match. Two kills by Waga and one from LaBouliere cut into the Kingsmen's lead, as the Leopards narrowed the deficit to one point at 8-7. After Cal-Lutheran pushed their lead up to two, Wentworth took over from that point on. The Leopards won 10 of the following 11 points, receiving two kills from LaBouliere, a pair of aces from Krzykowski, and one kill by Burritt. The stretch gave Wentworth a 16-10 advantage, and they were able to maintain their six point lead thanks to one kill each by Waga and Jack. With the score at 18-12, the Leopards rolled off a 6-2 run that was helped by kills from Waga, Jack, and junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) to take a 24-14 lead. After two points from the Kingsmen, Cebula provided the final point with a kill to close out a 25-16 victory in the third to finish a 3-0 Wentworth victory.
THE SERIES:
Wentworth and Baldwin-Wallace had their first ever meeting today, while the Leopards are now 2-2 all-time against Cal-Lutheran.
NEXT UP:
The Leopards are back at it tomorrow, first facing off with UC Santa-Cruz at 3:00 p.m. EST, then going up against Moorpark College in an exhibition at 9:00 p.m. EST.
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