NEWTON, Mass. – For the first time in Wentworth men's volleyball history, the Leopards have eclipsed the 20-win plateau. Wentworth did so with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-20) win at Mount Ida in a non-conference contest. The 20 wins eclipse the old mark of 19, which was established during the 2000 season when the Leopards finished 19-6.
It stayed close throughout game one with no more than two points separating the squads with the Leopards leading 7-5 after an error by the Mustangs. Mount Ida continued to keep pace with the visitors knotting the score twice in the middle of the match at 9-9 and 10-10 both times followed by senior captain Thomas Belton (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) kills. Wentworth would jump ahead after a 7-0 run up 17-11 coming mostly from a powerful offensive strike. The visitors kept the advantage up 20-13 following another Mustang mistake. Mount Ida pulled within four points down 23-19 after another kill by Belton. But the visitors finished off the Mustangs taking a 25-20 game one win good for the 1-0 match lead.
Mount Ida came out hot in game two powering a 6-2 lead following an error by the visitors. The offensive threat by the Mustangs did not last long while they watched the Leopards go on a 6-0 run capped on a solo block by senior Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) up 8-6. The visitors would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the match and pulled ahead by a set high six point advantage (17-11) after an error by the hosts. Although the Mustangs cut the lead down to three at 22-19 following a sophomore Spencer Hastings (Orlando, FL/Timber Creak) kill, the Leopards closed out the 25-21 game two win to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
The Mustangs knotted the score four times in the opening points stuck at 5-5 after a service error by the visitors. The game remained close with no more than two points separating the squads with the Mustangs down 10-9 after a kill by freshman Ross Burdett (Needham, MA/Needham). Mount Ida took an 11-10 advantage following another kill by Belton. A 7-0 Leopard run gave the visitors a commanding 17-11 lead down the stretch after numerous Mustang errors. Although Mount Ida cut the visiting advantage down to four points after a Belton kill, they would eventually give up a 25-20 game three loss and fall 3-0 in the match.
Burdett and senior Derek Portugal led the way with nine kills apiece, while senior Dan Mulvey (Halifax, Mass.) added eight and Jesmer and freshman Mike Buonincontra adding seven kills. Mulvey and Jesmer had seven and three blocks, respectively. Sophomore Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 40 assists and nine digs, senior Marc Larue (Lincoln, R.I.) added 11 digs, and Buonincontra added eight digs.
Wentworth improves to 20-8 on the season and is at MIT on Friday night, while Mount Ida ends its season with an 8-19 record.
-Portions of this release courtesy of Mount Ida Sports Information-
