Men's Volleyball Competes at Springfield Invitational

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth men's volleyball team competed against some of the finest Division III squads in the country this past weekend as the Leopards competed at the Springfield Invitational. Each of Wentworth's four opponents – Juniata, Baruch, Kean, and Springfield – is ranked in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Men's Poll. The Leopards posted an 0-4 weekend to fall to 10-10 on the year, with eight of the 10 losses coming to nationally ranked teams.

Wentworth opened the tournament with a match against fourth-ranked Juniata. A closely played opening game saw the Leopards hit .280, but fall 25-21. The Eagles took the second game by a 25-18 score and closed out the match with a 25-10 win in the third game, a game that saw Wentworth hit -.280.

Freshman Nate Perry (New Bedford, Mass.) finished with a team-high eight kills to go along with eight digs, while junior Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had five kills, six digs, and 19 assists. Sophomore Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) recorded four kills, two aces, and nine digs.

The Leopards completed Friday's slate of matches against 14^th-ranked Baruch. Wentworth took the opening game by a 25-18 score, but Baruch evened the match with a 25-15 win in the second game. While the next two games were close, the Leopards were defeated 25-21 in both the third and fourth games to fall, 3-1. In the fourth game the Black & Gold tied a match-high with 11 kills.

Burdett and Perry had 12 kills apiece and recorded nine and eight digs, respectively, with Burdett adding two aces. Junior Rick Pignataro (Wilbraham, Mass.) had 17 digs while sophomore Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) recorded five kills and 14 digs. Moriarty had 31 assists.

Wentworth opened play on Saturday with a match against 15^th-ranked Kean. A back-and-forth affair in the opening game eventually led to Kean edging the Leopards, 26-24, and the Cougars took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 win in the second game. The Leopards rebounded in the third game to take a 25-15 win and came within two points of forcing a fifth game, falling 25-23 in the fourth game.

Sophomore Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) and Burdett recorded eight kills apiece in the loss, while Pignataro had 14 digs. Freshman Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.) recorded three blocks. Moriarty served a pair of aces and had 30 assists.

Third-ranked and host Springfield was Wentworth's final opponent in the tournament and the Pride used a balanced offensive attack and a hitting percentage of .451 to roll to the victory. The Leopards were defeated, 25-21 in the opening game before Springfield used an attack percentage of .500 to take a 25-18 win in the second game. The Pride closed out the match with a 25-16 win in the third game.

Burdett and Perry recorded 12 and 10 kills, respectively, in the loss while Moriarty had 22 assists and Pignataro added six digs.

Wentworth looks to snap a five-match losing streak on Tuesday when the Leopards return to GNAC play when they host Lasell.