BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) had 20 kills, including three in the deciding game, as the Wentworth men's volleyball team rallied to take a 3-2 decision over Albertus Manus in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
The opening game featured four ties in the early going before the visiting Falcons took a 7-4 lead. The Leopards cut the lead to one three times and eventually tied the game at 10-all. Albertus Magnus pulled ahead by a 15-12 margin before Wentworth would tie the game two more ties – at 18-all and 20-all. The Falcons scored three of the next four points, forcing the Leopard time out at 23-21. The teams exchanged points to make it 24-22 and the Falcons would prevail, 25-22. Freshman Glen Johnson (Newington, Conn.) paced the visitors with seven of his team's 14 kills in the opening frame while Buonincontra had five kills for Wentworth.
Albertus Magnus raced out to a 6-1 lead to open the second game before Wentworth scored seven of the next 10 points to pull within a point at 10-9. The Falcons and Leopards traded 4-1 spurts before three straight Albertus points gave the visitors a 17-13. Wentworth eventually fell behind by a 22-17 score, went on a 7-1 run to take a 24-23 lead. After a Falcon time out, the Leopards committed a serving error on their first attempt at game point but would score the next two points to take a 26-24 win. Buonincontra and classmate Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) had six and five kills for the Black & Gold while sophomore Brendan Charamut (Southington, Conn.) had seven for the Falcons.
After the two teams traded points to open the third game, Albertus Magnus was in control, leading by as many as six points on a pair of occasions. Wentworth pulled within three twice and found itself trailing by two at 20-18 before the Falcons closed out the game by scoring six of the next eight points and prevailed, 25-20. Johnson led the Falcons with seven kills.
The two teams traded points early in the fourth game, knotting the score five times. Wentworth turned a 6-5 deficit into a 10-6 lead on the strength of timely serving and a pair of Burdett kills. Wentworth extended its lead to 15-9, and, eventually, 21-13 before Albertus Magnus scored four of the next five points to cut the lead to 22-17. However three straight Wentworth points closed out the game, 25-22, and forced a deciding fifth game. Buonincontra and freshman Nate Perry (New Bedford, Mass.) tallied four kills in the game.
Leading 3-1 early in the fifth game, the Leopards saw the Falcons knot the score at 3-all before scoring five of the next six points to take an 8-3 lead. Albertus pulled within a pair at 9-7, but Wentworth used a 6-2 run to take a 15-9 win and claim a 3-2 win.
Buonincontra also added four blocks while Burdett finished with 14 kills. Perry, in his debut, had 10 kills, five aces, and 11 digs. Junior Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) finished with 41 assists and 14 digs. Freshman Drew Estes (Trophy Club, Texas) had a match-high 15 digs.
Johnson tallied 20 kills for the Falcons to go along with a dozen kills. Charamut added 14 kills, three aces, and a pair of blocks, while sophomore Carlos Torres (Maspeth, N.Y.) added 47 assists and 13 digs.
