BRONX, N.Y. – Freshman Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) recorded 12 kills and hits .417 to help pace the Wentworth men's volleyball team to its first win of the 2011 season, a 3-0 win over Lehman in a non-league contest.
The visiting Leopards got off to a fast start, hitting .368 as a team and holding the Lightning to -.107. Wentworth led from start to finish in the opening game and eventually took a 25-14 decision.
Lehman took advantage of 11 attack errors in the second game would rally from a 14-9 deficit to tie the game at 15-15. That tie would be the first since the game was tied at 5-all and the two teams would battle through four more ties before the Leopards squeaked out a 25-23 win.
Game three saw six ties early in the contest before the Leopards built a two-point lead. However, the Lightning fought back, and despite not taking the lead, tied the game at 17-all and had the serve. A Burdett kill gave Wentworth an 18-17 lead and the visitors would complete the sweep with a 25-20 win.
In addition to his 12 kills, Burdett also had seven digs in the win. Seniors Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, N.Y.) and Derek Portugal (Barrington, R.I.) each tallied seven kills, while freshman Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) had five kills and four blocks. Sophomore Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 26 assists and seven digs in the win.
For Lehman, seniors Nate Martin (Carleton, Mich.) and R.J. LeBlanc (South Rockwood, Mich.) tied for the team lead with eight kills apiece while freshman Miguel Gallardo (Bronx, N.Y.) contributed 11 assists for the 0-1 Lightning.
Wentworth improves to 1-1 on the year and faces fifth-ranked Rivier on Sunday as a part of the Rivier Invitational.
