Boston, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match as the Leopards defeated fifth-ranked Rivier (3-1) and Anna Maria (3-0). Rivier beat Anna Maria 3-0 in the middle match of the day.
The victory over Rivier snaps a 23-match losing streak for Wentworth as it's the first win since March 23, 2000 against the Raiders. It is also the first win for the Black & Gold against a ranked opponent since they beat No. 15 MIT on January 24, 2001.
Wentworth finishes the regular season with a program-best record of 25-7 (14-2). Rivier is 27-6 (15-1), and Anna Maria finishes its first season at 1-20 (0-16).
Match #1: Wentworth 3, Rivier 1
Rivier opened the first set with a 5-1 lead after they prevailed on the first few long rallies. However, Wentworth took three of the next four points after a freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) block to get to match to 6-4. The Raiders then bounced right back and went on a 5-2 spurt to extend their lead to 11-6. The teams split the next eight points and Rivier maintained its five point lead of 15-10.
Senior Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) finished a kill from the left side to pull the Leopards within four at 17-13, but a Wentworth error followed by an ace by junior Cam Phegley-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) and a block by senior Aaron Almario (Alhambra, Calif.) upped the Rivier lead to 20-14. Wentworth then benefitted from a service error, however Rivier steadied the tide to take four of the next five points to make the score 24-16. Wentworth battled and took three straight points to make it 24-19, but Almario finished the set with a kill to give the Raiders a 25-19 win.
Wentworth began the second set with a 4-2 lead. Rivier fought back and tied the set at seven but a service error kept the Leopards in the lead at 8-7. That error began a four-point run for the Leopards, highlighted by two Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) blocks to make the score 11-7. The Raiders then took four of the next five to get within one at 12-11.
With the set tied at 14-all, senior Terence Matatall (Danville, N.H.) blocked a Reed kill attempt to give Rivier its first lead, 15-14. Wentworth then scored three of the next four to take back the lead at 17-16. The two teams would then go back-and-forth on the next six points and Wentworth maintained their one point lead, 20-19. Rivier took the next two points to gain the lead at 21-20 but a service error knotted the match at 21 a side.
The score would be at 23 when Reed beat the Rivier defense to push them to the brink at 24-23 but Matatall responded with a kill and the set was tied again at 24. Reed then put the Leopards back in the lead at 25-24 and an error ended the set 26-24, evening the match at a set apiece.
Wentworth jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the third set after back-to-back Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) kills from the middle. Rivier then went on a 5-3 spurt to get within four at 12-8, but freshman Sam Pisker (Mullica Hill, N.J.) painted the line on the left side with a kill to make the score 13-8.
Pisker struck again, this time from the right side, and the score was 15-10. A Reed error got Rivier within four at 15-11, but Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) fed Donahue to keep Wentworth's five point advantage, 16-11. Ritter then ran across court to block Phegley-Walker and the Leopards held an 18-12 lead.
With the score 21-14, the Raiders scored three straight points to force a Wentworth timeout. After the timeout, senior Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) beat the defense and made the score 22-17. The Leopards finished the set with a 3-1 run and Pisker finished with an ace to make its 25-18 final and give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
The Leopards kept the pressure on in the fourth set behind Donahue's two blocks and two kills to force a Rivier timeout with the score 6-1. Following the timeout, the Raiders took the next four points to make the score 6-5. Donahue continued his strong play with another kill to keep Wentworth in the lead, 7-5. Wentworth then went on a 6-3 run to extend their lead to 13-9.
Rivier then battled back with a 5-1 run to get within two at 15-14. Once again, Donahue kept the Leopards in the lead with a kill, 16-14. Rivier tied the set at 16, but Donahue came to the rescue with a kill followed by an ace and the Leopards held an 18-16 advantage.
Freshman Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) then blocked a Reed kill attempt to tie the match for Rivier and a Wentworth error gave them their first lead, 19-18, which forced a Leopard's timeout. Wentworth took four of the next five points to force a timeout with the score 22-20. The Leopards added a point, but the Raiders scored the next two and the score was 23-22. Matatall blocked Mann to tie the set at 23, but Blank put his serve into the net and the Leopards held a 24-23 lead.
Matatall then knotted the match at 26, but Burdett responded to give Wentworth the lead, 27-26. Almario came back with a block to tie it again but this time Reed finished for the Leopards to make it 28-27. Almario wasn't done, and his kill followed by a Wentworth error gave Rivier a 29-28 lead. But Reed and Burdett each finished to tie the match at 30. This time the Leopards took care of business and Burdett ended the match 32-30 to give Wentworth the victory.
Donahue led the Leopards with 17 kills on 26 swings, two aces, and two digs and was involved in three blocks. Burdett added 11 kills and six digs while the freshmen Reed and Pisker combined for 20 kills, 12 digs, three aces and three blocks. Ritter assisted on 49 of Wentworth's 57 kills.
Junior Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) paced the Raiders with 16 kills, five digs and four block assists. Almario added 14 kills to go along with five block assists, while Matatall chipped in 12 kills and three block solos. Blank assisted on 52 of Rivier's 56 kills in the losing effort.
Match #2: Rivier 3, Anna Maria 0
Rivier jumped out to a 10-6 advantage in the opening frame behind strong offensive efficiency. After an Anna Maria timeout the Raiders took four of the next five points to extend their lead to 14-7.
Sophomore Mike Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.) finished a kill and upped the Raider lead to 19-11. The AMCATS added two points but Rivier finished on a 6-0 run to win the set 25-13.
The Raiders forced a timeout with a 6-0 spurt to start the second set. After the timeout, Anna Maria got on the board but Rivier's Matt Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.) finished from the middle to make the score 7-1. The AMCATS added two to their tally before Rivier responded with two of their own. With the score 10-4, Brendan Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.) beat the AMCAT defense to extend the Rivier lead to 11-4.
Rivier continued their dominance in the middle stages of the match by going on an 8-4 run, making the score 19-8. Freshman Jonathan Alicea (Feeding Hills, Mass.) blocked a Raider kill attempt to make the score 19-9, but a Rivier kill followed by a Matt Tutino ace extended the lead to 21-9. Following an Anna Maria timeout, Rivier finished the match on a 4-1 run and took the set 25-10.
The teams split the first fourteen points of the match and were all square at seven. Rivier then took the next five points to take a 12-7 lead. The Raiders then went on a 7-1 run and extended their lead to 19-8. After an Anna Maria timeout, River took six of the last eight points to end the set 25-10.
Rivier hit .470 as a team in the sweep and we led by Brendan Tutino's eight kills, five digs, and three block assists. Freshman Ian Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) added eight kills and three aces while, Hadder tallied seven kills and seven digs. Freshmen setters Matthew Ortiz (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Matt LaSance (Madison, Conn.) combined for 34 assists in the match.
Gavyn Torres (Providence, R.I.) hit .556 for the match with six kills on nine attempts. Freshman Ty Discoe (Pittsfield, Mass.) added two kill, while Matthew Kozlowski (Seymour, Conn.) had three assists and three digs.
Match #3: Wentworth 3, Anna Maria 0
Anna Maria took the first three points of the opening set but the Leopards took the next three and the teams were locked at three. The AMCATS then went on a 7-4 spurt to take a 10-7 lead but Mann finished a kill and got the Leopards back within two. Anna Maria kept their lead until the Leopards tied it at 13 on a Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) kill.
The Black & Gold then went on a 7-2 run to force an Anna Maria timeout with the score 20-15. The run continued after the stoppage and the Leopards finished the set with a 25-17 victory.
Wentworth started hot and scored the first six points of the second set. Their overall execution continued and they extended their lead to 12-2 which forced a timeout. Freshman Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) stepped to the service line and guided his team to six straight points to increase the lead to 18-2. The Leopards would then finish the set on a 7-3 run and win set 25-5.
The final frame began with the Leopards taking an 8-5 lead. Anna Maria tied the match at 10 on an ace by freshman Dalton Gill (Florida, N.Y.). Wentworth then took the next two points to take a 12-10 advantage. A 6-3 spurt extended the Leopard lead to 18-13, which forced an AMCAT timeout. Wentworth finished the set on another 7-3 run and won 25-16.
The Leopards hit .372 for the match with 38 kills on 78 total attacks. Sophomore Bill Shimkus (Sudbury, Mass.) led Wentworth with 28 assists; he added two aces, two digs, four block assists. Freshman Elijah Egalite (Bayonne, N.J.) had nine kills, Potts had seven kills on 11 swings (.545) and Buonincontra finished with seven kills on twelve swings with two digs.
Freshman Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) led the AMCATS with six kills and eight digs. Classmate Dylan Copeland (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in five kills on 18 swings, with eight digs and an ace. Senior Jonathan Gallardo (Marlborough, Mass.) had three kills and two blocks in the loss.
Wentworth and Rivier both earned first round byes in the GNAC tournament and will both host semi-final matches on Thursday April 10, 2014.
Rivier
Anna Maria