BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Derek Portugal (Barrington, R.I.) and freshman Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) combined for 42 kills over two matches as the Wentworth men's volleyball team swept a pair of North East Collegiate Volleyball Association New England Division matches, defeating Elms, 3-0, and Southern Vermont, 3-0. In the day's middle match, Elms swept Southern Vermont, 3-0.
Wentworth took a 25-21 win in the first game of the Elms match, thanks to an early, 6-2 lead. The Blazers would cut the lead to as few as one on three occasions, including at 18-17, but the Leopards scored seven of the next 11 points. In the second game, Wentworth scored the first eight points and never looked back, rolling to a 25-14 win. The hosts completed the sweep with a 25-22 win in the third game – a game that saw Elms hold a 20-18 lead, but a 6-1 run erased the deficit.
Portugal recorded 15 kills, eight digs, and three aces while Burdett added 11 kills and two aces. Senior Dan Mulvey (Halifax, Mass.) contributed to the win with 10 kills and sophomore Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) added 36 assists and eight digs.
Elms was led by freshman Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.), junior Mike Kleckner (Bethlehem, Pa.), and junior Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.), who recorded six kills apiece. Acosta also added five blocks, while freshman Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) had 20 kills and 14 digs. Junior Mike Martin (Enfield, Conn.) led the defense with 21 digs.
The Blazers took the first game against the Mountaineers by a 25-18 score after scoring five straight points to extend a 19-16 lead to a 24-16 lead. Elms leads of 12-5 and 18-10 in the middle game before Southern Vermont turned a 23-13 deficit turned into a 24-22 deficit. However, an attack error gave Elms a 25-22 win. Elms closed out the match with a 25-16 win after using a 13-2 run to turn a 3-2 lead into a 16-4 lead.
Rainey had 10 kills, while Kleckner had seven kills and 13 digs. Freshman Daniel LeBron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) had 28 assists in a winning effort.
Southern Vermont was led by freshman Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.) who had 12 killsand three blocks. Freshman Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.) had 22 assists and seven digs for the Mountaineers.
Wentworth took an early 8-4 lead in the first game against the Mountaineers and never looked back, winning by a 25-15 score. The Leopards held a 10-5 lead in the second game before Southern Vermont closed the gap to 11-8. However, the Leopards responded with a 10-6 run – including scoring four points in a row – to extend the lead to 22-13 and would win, 25-16. The third game was a back-and-forth affair that featured 19 ties and no team holding more than a three-point lead. The Mountaineers were serving for match point, up 25-24, but three straight Leopard points erased the deficit and gave the hosts the sweep.
Portugal had nine kills and five aces, while Burdett added seven kills. Moriarty added 23 assists and senior Marc Larue (Lincoln, R.I.) had 10 digs to help the cause.
Barahona had 10 kills and 11 digs in the loss, while junior Connor Murray (Litchfield, Conn.) added seven. Ayala finished the game with 22 assists, nine digs, and a pair of aces.
