BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories on Saturday as the Leopards edged WPI, 3-2, and swept Mount Ida, 3-0. The victories give Wentworth a 7-0 record, which is the best start in program history.
WENTWORTH 3, WPI 2
Wentworth came out of the gates flying as, with sophomore Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) on the line, the Leopards scored six straight points. Three of those came by way of sophomore Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) kills. The Leopards extended their lead to 10-2 before WPI came back and tied the set at 11-all on a kill from junior Casey Hunt (Granby, Conn.). The teams battled back and forth before a kill from Quick gave the Black & Gold a 23-22 lead. The Engineers scored the next two points to lead 24-23, however, a kill from senior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) and an ace from freshman Kayla Chen (Irvine Calif.) gave Wentworth set point at 25-24. Freshman Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) gave Wentworth a chance to clinch the set with a kill but WPI responded with a kill from freshman Sarah Kwatinetz (Seattle, Wash.) to make it 27-27. After an attack error, Shea and freshman Makenna Salsbury (Bel Air, Md.) teamed up for a block to give Wentworth the set.
The Leopards began the second set the same way they began the first as this time Chen served four straight points to give the hosts an early lead. Trailing 6-1, WPI pulled within a point at 8-7 after an attack error, but four straight Wentworth pints extended the Leopards' lead to 12-8. The Black & Gold built its lead to 17-11 on a solo block from Rogoz but an 11-5 Engineer run tied the set at 22-all. A Lassiter kill and a WPI attack error gave the Leopards a 24-22 lead, however the Engineers battled back to take the set, 27-25.
WPI took a 2-1 lead with a 25-14 lead in the third set as the Engineers forced the hosts to hit -.095 in the frame. Wentworth held a 7-4 lead early before an 8-3 run gave WPI the lead at 12-10. Two straight Leopard points tied the set at 12-all, and, with WPI holding a 15-14 lead, an attack error gave the visitors a two-point edge. From there, junior Victoria Nassar (Atkinson, N.H.) stepped to the service line and would serve nine straight points to close out the set.
The Leopards forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win in the fourth set. Wentworth jumped out to a 12-6 lead to open the set, and, after WPI scored two straight points, Chen served two aces as a part of five straight Wentworth points to extend the lead to 18-8. WPI used a 9-4 run to trim the lead to 22-17, however, kills from Salsbury and Shea gave the Leopards set points and, after a service error, an attack error gave the Leopards the win and sent them to their second five-set match of the season.
In the fifth set there were five ties, including at 9-all when the Engineers knotted it up after a Wentworth service error. Lassiter gave the hosts the lead for good with a kill, igniting a 4-0 run which would make it 13-9, and, after the Engineers scored two of the next three points, Rogoz ended the match with a kill. Wentworth hit .412 in the set.
Rogoz had 18 kills, 20 digs, and three blocks. Lassiter recorded 14 kills and three blocks while Quick had 13 kills and 20 digs. Salsbury had four kills and five blocks, Shea added five kills, senior Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) had six kills and three blocks, junior Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) and sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had 13 and 12 digs, respectively, and Chen and sophomore Maddy Tomastik combined for 48 helpers with Chen having 29. It marked the first time Wentworth had defeated the Engineers since 2007.
Kwatinetz and freshman Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, N.H.) each had 14 kills for WPI. Wetmore had eight blocks while Kwatinetz had five. Hunt finished with eight kills and 11 digs, senior Melissa Daigle (Norfolk, Mass.) had seven kills, Nassar had 29 digs and four aces, and Azita Bakhtyari (Andover, Mass.) had 44 assists, 12 digs, and three blocks.
WENTWORTH 3, MOUNT IDA 0
Wentworth opened the match scoring nine of the first 10 points and took a 9-1 lead on a kill from Lassiter. The Leopards extended their lead to 18-6 before three straight Mustang points – two coming on Colombo kills – made it 18-9. A kill from Lassiter bumped the lead to 22-10 and the Leopards took a 25-14 win in the first set.
Mount Ida started the second set scoring the first two points as a kill from Reidy and a Wentworth attack error got the visitors on the scoreboard first, however Quick then played a major role in the 25-3 win as she recorded a kill to cut the deficit to 2-1 and then stepped to the line to serve 23 straight points. During her impressive run she served seven aces. Wentworth forced the Mustangs to hit -.269 in the frame.
The Leopards wrapped up the match with a 25-18 win in the third set. The teams battled back and forth to open the set with neither team leading by more than a single point, until a 7-0 run gave the hosts a 10-3 lead after a kill from Shea. Mount Ida responded by scoring 13 of the next 20 points to pull within a point at 17-16, however a kill from Shea started a set-ending 8-2 run.
Junior Abigail Ahern (Barrington, N.H.) paced the offense by hitting .409 (9-0-22) to go along with an ace and three digs. Rogoz had seven kills of her own and had just one error on 13 swings (.462).Shea and Carlson tallied four kills apiece while Chen had 21 assists and Quick had 17 digs. Nine Leopards recorded at least one kill in the match and the Black & Gold forced Mount Ida to hit -.011 for the match.
Freshman Rachel Colombo (Wallkill, N.Y.) and senior Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.) had five kills apiece for Mount Ida while sophomore Alexis Bell (Salem, Conn.) had 18 assists and seven digs.
Wentworth hosts Lasell Tuesday night.
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