BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Wentworth men's volleyball team split a pair of North East Collegiate Volleyball Association New England Division matches as the Leopards downed host Southern Vermont, 3-0, before falling to Newbury, 3-1.
In the opening match against the Mountaineers, Wentworth claimed the first game by a 25-19 score before taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-18 win in the second game. In that game, the Leopards held the hosts to a negative hitting percentage, despite hitting just .095 themselves. The third game was a back-and-forth affair in the latter stages, with the teams trading points starting at 24 before Wentworth pulled out the 29-27 win.
Freshman Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) had 13 kills and seven digs, while senior Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, N.Y.) chipped in with nine kills and two blocks. Senior Marc Larue (Lincoln, R.I.) recorded a team-high 12 digs, with freshman Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) and sophomore Coerte Voorhees (Hopewell, N.J.) adding 10 apiece. Sophomore Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 31 assists.
Wentworth's second match of the day saw an end to its four-match win streak. In the opening game, both the Leopards and the Nighthawks had just two attack errors each, hitting .419 and .444, respectively, and having the Leopards take a 25-23 win. In game two, the score was reversed as Newbury evened the match with a 25-23 win. The Nighthawks took a 2-1 lead after taking a 25-21 win in the fourth game and would complete the victory with a 25-15 win in the fourth game, a game that saw the Leopards commit 10 attack errors.
Jesmer led Wentworth with 14 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while Burdett and senior Derek Portugal (Barrington, R.I.) had eight and seven kills, respectively. Moriarty finished the match with 24 assists and a team-high 15 digs. Larue added 12 digs.
Southern Vermont
Newbury