Boston, Mass. – Freshmen Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and Alex Potts (Nierville, N.Y.) each recorded 10 kills while senior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) became the program's all-time dig leader as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team extended its win streak to five with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Lasell College in Great Northeast Conference play on Wednesday evening.
With the win the Leopards improve to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Lasers drop to 6-4 (1-2).
Wentworth trailed 3-1 early but quickly tied the match at three on a Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) ace. The two teams would trade points and be tied at four, five and six before the Lasers took a 10-8 lead. However, the Leopards scored four straight points to force a timeout with the score 12-8. Lasell would battle back to get within one at 14-13 but a Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) kill from the left side kept the Wentworth lead at two, 15-13.
Lasell responded with a 4-2 run sparked by a Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) kill to tie the match at 17-all. Wentworth would score the next two points and took a 19-17 lead. The back-and-forth play would continue and Ryan Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) would tie the game at 19-all with a kill from center court. The teams then traded points and were tied at 21-all before senior Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) beat the Lasell defense from the left side. Burdett would then block Daniel Raffoll's (Natick, Mass.) kill attempt to give the Leopards at 24-21 advantage. Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) would end the set on a kill and the Leopards took the first set, 25-22.
The second began all-even with the teams tied at four, but three straight points by Donahue(two kills and one block) gave the Leopards a 7-4 lead. Potts would then extend the Wentworth lead to 12-7 on a kill from the center. Lasell would then take the next two points to get within three, but Potts ended the run with another kill and the Leopards led 13-9. The Lasers would get within two at 13-11, however two unforced errors extended the Leopard lead to 15-11. Reed's kill then kept the Leopard lead at four, 18-14. Lasell kept battling and got within two at 20-18 but Donahue and Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.) combined for the block to extend their lead to three, 21-18. Wentworth was able to keep a two point advantage before Potts ended the set with a kill. The Black & Gold took the second set 25-22.
Lasell would jump out to an early 5-1 lead in the third set behind strong serving from freshman Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) Trailing 6-2, the Leopards would score two straight to get within two at 6-4. But Lasell came right back and extended their lead to 8-4. The Lasers' lead ballooned to 10-5, but Wentworth fought back with three straight points to get within two at 10-8. Lasell then took the next three points to go up back up by five at 13-8. With the score 14-9, the Leopards would score four straight to get within one at 14-13. After an errant Lasell serve, Burdett would tie the game at 15 with a kill from the left-side. The match would then be tied at 16 and 17-all before Lasell took a 19-17 lead.
Potts would tie the match at 19-all with a block and then the Leopards forced a timeout with two straight points to take a 22-20 advantage. An unforced error followed by a Potts' kill pushed the Lasers to the brink with the score 24-20. Lasell continued to battle and forced the Leopards to take a timeout with the score 24-22. On the next play Wentworth would take the third set 25-22.
Potts hit .562 for the match, making just one error on 16 swings, and adding a pair of aces. Burdett chipped in with eight kills and five digs, Donahue had four kills and a block, and freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 31 assists. Buonincontra now had 652 career digs, surpassing the 648 collected by Dominik Szpyrka '06.
Sophomore Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) led the Lasers with 13 kills, five digs and a block. Jackson added eight kills, eight digs and a block. Sophomore Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) had 35 assists, while junior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) chipped in six kills, and five digs while hitting .312 in the losing effort.
Both teams will be playing in tri-matches on Saturday. Wentworth travels to Springfield to face a pair of nationally ranked foes in No. 13 Baruch and the No. 3 Pride. Lasell hosts Anna Maria and Regis.
