NEWTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team made program history on Sunday afternoon as the Leopards swept Albertus Magnus (3-0) and Mount Ida (3-0) to run its record to 21-7. The 21 wins establishes a new single-season win record for the program, breaking the previous mark of 20 which was set in 2011 and matched last season.
In the second meeting in less than a week between Wentworth and Albertus Magnus, the Leopards would jump out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-14 win as the Black & Gold hit .357 as a team. Freshman Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) had four kills and four digs in the set and senior Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) added three kills and three blocks.
The second set saw 12 ties and five lead changes with the Leopards taking a 21-20 lead on a Reed kill. After a freshman Sam Pisker (Mullica Hill, N.J.) kill upped the lead to 22-20, the Falcons pulled within one before three straight Leopard points – capped off by a Pisker ace – gave Wentworth a 25-21 win. Reed had four kills and four digs, while Mann and freshman Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) had three kills each.
Leading by as many as seven (17-10) in the third set, Wentworth saw its lead cut to 20-19 before three straight points gave the Leopards a 23-19 lead. During the three-point spurt, Potts assisted on two blocks. The Falcons would close the gap to 23-21 and 24-22, however a service error gave Wentworth a 25-22 win in the set to complete the sweep.
Reed finished with 10 kills, nine digs, and two blocks while Mann had eight kills, hit .583, and had six blocks. Pisker and senior Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) had seven kills each, Potts had six kills and six blocks, senior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) had nine digs, and freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 36 assists, six digs, and four blocks.
The Leopards led from start to finish in the opening set against Mount Ida, hitting .438 to take a 25-10 win. Reed had three kills, Pisker had two kills and three blocks, Potts had two kills and four blocks, and Burdett had four digs.
Set two saw the Leopards hit .636 as they recorded eight kills and just one error on 11 swings, en route to a 25-8 win. Pisker and Potts combined for five service aces, Buonincontra had three kills, and sophomore Elijah Egalite (Bayonne, N.J.) had two kills.
Buonincontra recorded seven kills on nine swings in the third set as the Black & Gold completed the sweep with a 25-19 win. Mann added four kills and Egalite had three digs.
For the match, Buonincontra had 10 kills and hit .750 as he made just one error on 12 swings. Mann had five kills, Reed had three kills, and Potts had three kills and five blocks. Burdett and Pisker had four and three aces, respectively, with Pisker also recording three blocks. Sophomore Bill Shimkus (Sudbury, Mass.) had 26 kills.
Wentworth has its final regular-season road match on Tuesday night as the Leopards travel to Lasell.
Mount Ida