BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) recorded 14 kills and senior Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, N.Y.) added seven kills, six blocks, and two aces as the Wentworth men's volleyball team defeated Daniel Webster, 3-0, in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association New England Division Match at Tansey Gymnasium. With the win Wentworth improves to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in league play, while Daniel Webster falls to 3-4 (2-2).
The opening game saw a back-and-forth battle to open the contest, as after the Eagles opened with a 2-0 lead, the teams would have seven ties. The Leopards took an 11-10 lead and extended it to 14-11 and 17-14 before Daniel Webster pulled back within one at 19-18. Wentworth scored three of the next four points to extend the lead to 22-19 and eventually win, 25-21.
After three ties to open the second game and the score knotted at 3-all, the Leopards took control, using a 16-4 run to take a 19-8 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Daniel Webster had an early, 6-3 lead in the third game before Wentworth would tie the score at 8-all. The Eagles went on a 9-4 run and took their largest lead of the game, 17-12, before a 6-2 Leopard run made it a 19-18 game. The visitors scored the next two points, and after Wentworth made it 21-19, the Eagles again extended the lead to three at 22-19. The Leopards would score five of the next six points, capped off by a Jesmer kill, to 24-23. After an attack error tied the score at 24-all, Wentworth took a 25-24 lead on an Eagle service error. Junior Chris Shannon (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) recorded a kill to tie the score at 25-all, but two Eagle errors gave Wentworth a 27-25 win and a sweep of the match.
Freshman Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) added six kills, while senior Dan Mulvey (Halifax, Mass.) had three kills and six blocks. Buonincontra added six digs, while senior Derek Portugal (Barrington, R.I.) added five. Sophomore Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 29 assists and seven digs in the win.
Daniel Webster was led by freshman Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, Mass.) who had 14 kills, while Shannon had 10 kills and 12 digs, and junior David Miller (Eldersburg, Md.) had four blocks. Sophomore Kyle Clement (Weymouth, Mass.) finished with 22 assists.
