NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) and freshman Nate Perry (New Bedford, Mass.) each tallied 13 kills as the Wentworth men's volleyball team, in its first season of competition in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, clinched a home match in the conference tournament with a 3-1 win over host Albertus Magnus. The match was played as a part of a tri-match where the Leopards would fall, 3-0, to Johnson & Wales in the second match of the day.
Sophomore Brendan Charamut (Southington, Conn.) tallied 16 kills in 43 attempts, while adding two assists and five digs in the loss. Carlos Torres (Adjuntas, Puerto Rico) dished out 42 assists as he added eight digs and two block assists. Glenn Johnson (Newington, Conn.) recorded 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks for the Falcons as well.
Albertus took the first set 25-17 as the Falcons registered 14 kills in 31 tries along with just three hitting miscues. Wentworth bounced back in the second set and took a two-point win at 25-23. The Falcons led 18-13 before Wentworth battled back into the set and tied it at 21. A 4-2 run to end the set put the Leopards in the win column.
Wentworth cruised to a 25-20 win in the third set before taking the final set 25-22 despite a late Albertus rally. Wentworth led 18-9 before the Falcons cut the lead to five at 20-15. Albertus got to within two at 23-21 before Wentworth used two kills to secure the victory.
Junior Rick Pignataro (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) both tallied a match-high 12 digs, while sophomore Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) added 11 kills in 19 tries (.421 attack percentage) to go along with four blocks. Freshman Zack Tarolli (Milford, Mass.) had a pair of aces from the serving line.
Perry and Burdett recorded nine and six kills, respectively, as the Leopards dropped a 3-0 decision to Johnson & Wales to close out the regular season. The Wildcats hit .333 in the open game, en route to a 25-14 win and held Wentworth to a -.118 attack percentage in the second game, taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 win.
Game three featured seven ties and three lead changes, but with the score tied at 7-all, Johnson & Wales went on a 10-4 run to take a 17-11 lead and never looked back, sweeping the match with a 25-19 win.
Freshmen Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.) and Israel Shaw (New Ipswich, N.H.) had two blocks apiece while Buonincontra dished out 20 assists. Pignataro had 12 digs in the loss.
Wentworth finishes the regular season with a 13-15 record (7-7 GNAC). The Leopards will be seeded fourth in the upcoming GNAC Tournament and will host fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus on Tuesday (April 10) at 7:00 p.m.
(Portions of This Release Courtesy of Albertus Magnus Sports Information)
