MARCY, N.Y. – The third-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team battled but had a tough go at the first day of the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invitational on Friday, resulting in two five-set losses to #11 St. John Fisher and Nazareth in non-conference play.

MATCH ONE: #11 ST. JOHN FISHER 3, #3 WENTWORTH 2

RECORDS

• #3 Wentworth: 1-1
• #11 St. John Fisher: 4-1

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Jacob LaBouliere, 19; Sam Etter, 13; Hunter Oshman, 9
• Assists – Brayden Green, 42; Anthony Krzykowski, 6
• Digs – Oshman, 13; LaBouliere, Green, 7
• Aces – Tristan McDonough, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The match started in a back-and-forth scoring affair, with the Leopards receiving kills from senior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) and sophomore Sam Etter (Massillon, Ohio), making the score 2-2. The Cardinals got out to a 6-3 lead shortly thereafter until another kill from Etter made it 6-4. The Cardinals held a 7-5 lead until the Leopards scored four-straight points, including a point on a kill by junior Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), to take a 9-7 lead. St. John Fisher brought themselves back in, tying the score at 14-all. The Cardinals got themselves out to consecutive five-point leads (20-15, 21-16, 22-17) and kills from LaBouliere dwindled the deficit to four in each of the respective sets following. However, the Cardinals were able to carry their lead to a 25-20 set win and a 1-0 match lead.
• A kill by LaBouliere helped the Leopards get out to a 2-0 lead to begin the second set. After surrendering two-straight, Wentworth rattled off five-straight points, with one on a kill from Oshman and another on a kill from freshman Brayden Green (Lake Worth, Fl.) to push the lead to 7-2. After the Cardinals scored four-straight to make the score 7-6, they hung with the Leopards to a 10-9 score. Wentworth extended their lead to 11-9 and again to 12-10 on kills from LaBouliere. Wentworth then carried their two-point cushion up to a 17-15 score with the help of three more kills from LaBouliere. Up 19-16 with another kill from LaBouliere, the Leopards extended their lead to 21-16 with consecutive kills from Etter. LaBouliere (3) and Etter (1) picked up more kills en route to a 25-21 set win for the Leopards, marking a 1-1 match.
• The third set began with a back-and-forth point-setting, marking a 7-7 score, with Leopards' points coming on kills from Oshman, LaBouliere, Etter, and freshman Matthew Zegowitz (Westford, Mass.). Wentworth then rattled off four-straight points, one coming on a kill from senior Tristian McDonough (Shelton, Conn.), to push the score to 11-7. The Leopards carried their lead to a 14-10 score with the help of a block by McDonough. Wentworth helped their lead to 17-13 with another kill from Zegowitz. They then extended their lead to five with a kill from junior Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.), marking a 20-15 lead. After two kills from McDonough gave Wentworth a 22-18, the Cardinals came back, cutting the eventual deficit to one at a 24-23 score. A kill by Etter notched the Black & Gold a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
• After the Leopards got off to a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, the Cardinals came back to take a 5-3 lead. After a 5-5 tie, the Cardinals set out to an 8-5 lead. However, the Leopards came back, with kills by Waga, Etter, and McDonough, to close the score at 10-8. The Cardinals answered by extending their lead to 13-10. Three kills by senior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) helped the Leopards tie the score at 14 apiece. The Cardinals then separated themselves to a 20-16 lead. With the Cardinals pushing their lead, the Leopards kept it tight with kills from Waga and Etter at a 22-18 score. The Cardinals pushed their lead to an eventual 25-21 set win, forcing a fifth set.
• The Cardinals pushed an early fifth-set lead to 6-1, and 7-2 following. Carrying their lead to 12-6, the Leopards got kills from Oshman and McDonough to cut the deficit to 13-8. After a Etter kill brought the Leopards within four, the Cardinals scored two to win the deciding set 15-9.

THE SERIES:

• Following today's match, the all-time series is tied at 2-2.

MATCH TWO: NAZARETH 3, #3 WENTWORTH 2

RECORDS

• #3 Wentworth: 1-2
• Nazareth: 4-0

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Hunter Oshman, 13; Alex McLane, 12; Matthew Zegowitz, 10
• Assists – Brayden Green, 26; Josh Milke, 19
• Digs – Mason Andrade, 8; Oshman, Sam Etter, 5
• Aces – Etter, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth found themselves down 3-1 to start the match but came back within one with a kill from Oshman. Down 5-3, they came back within one with a kill from Zegowitz. Errors brought the two teams to an eventual 9-9 tie until a kill by Etter gave the Leopards their second (9-8) lead of the set. After back-and-forth points, the Leopards found themselves ahead 14-13, but the Golden Flyers re-took a 15-14 lead. Shortly thereafter, the Leopards tied it at 15-all with a kill from Oshman. The Golden Eagles attempted to separate themselves but kills by McLane, Zegowitz, and Waga had the Leopards working up the score to 20-18 score in favor of the Black & Gold. At a 22-22 score, the Leopards took a 23-22 lead off of an Oshman kill. However, Nazareth answered with three-straight points to take the first set in a 25-23 score.
• The second set started in a back-and-forth scoring affair, working up to a 3-3 score with the Leopards getting kills from McLane and Oshman. Down 6-5, the Leopards tied it back up with a kill from Waga. The Golden Flyers scored four-straight to then take a 10-6 lead. After the Leopards came back within two at 11-9, Nazareth extended their lead to 13-10. Two kills from Zegowitz cut the deficit to 13-12. Down 15-12, kills from McLane and Zegowitz again brought Wentworth within one. Nazareth carried themselves to a 19-15 lead until a kill from freshman Nicolai Bell (Moraga, Calif.) made the score 19-16. Bell notched kills later to make the score 20-17 and again to make a 22-18 score. The Golden Flyers took their lead to a 25-20 final score, taking a 2-0 match lead.
• The Leopards got out to an early 7-2 lead in the third set, with four kills coming from McLane. Wentworth continued to hold their lead to an 11-5 score with kills from Oshman, Waga, and Etter. Wentworth carried the lead to a 14-6 score with kills from Waga and Etter. Two kills for McLane continued Wentworth's lead to 18-9 before kills from Zegowitz and Etter propped the score to 21-11. Wentworth won the third set 25-16 with kills from Waga, McLane, and Oshman securing the win.
• The fourth set started with points going either way, working up to a 5-5 score before Golden Flyers' errors gave Wentworth an eventual 8-5 lead. Errors and a kill from Oshman carried Wentworth's lead to 14-9 score. Kills by Etter, Zegowitz, and Waga extended the Leopards' lead to 18-9. The Golden Flyers notched 13 of the next 18 points, bringing themselves within one at a 23-22 deficit. The Leopards snagged the win by a 25-23 score with a final kill from Oshman to force a fifth set.
• Kills from Etter and Oshman brought the fifth set to a 2-2 tie early. Nazareth managed to get out to a 5-3 lead and extend it to a 10-6 mark. Nazareth extended their lead to 13-7 before taking the match with a 15-9 fifth-set win.

THE SERIES:

• Today marked the eighth meeting between the two teams. Nazareth leads the all-time series, 5-3.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth tips off play against No. 8 Juniata tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. followed by SUNY Poly at 3:00 p.m.

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