POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – With a pair of victories on Saturday the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team ran its win streak to four matches and improved to 10-2 on the season. The Leopards dispatched of New Jersey City University, 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-14), before battling to a 3-1 win over host Vassar, 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 26-28, 25-19).
Against the Gothic Knights the Leopards set the tone early, leading wire-to-wire in the opening set, hitting .316 and forcing NJCU to hit -.048. Wentworth was led by three kills each from sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.). Reed and sophomore Collin Ritter each served a pair of aces while sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) had four blocks.
The second set saw four ties and two lead changes with Wentworth taking the lead for good after an NJCU service error made it 15-14. Reed had five kills in the set, with Potts adding three. Senior Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.), seeing his first action of the season, had a pair of blocks.
Set three was just like the opening frame as the Black & Gold led from start to finish and forced the Gothic Knights to hit -.143. Reed had five kills on six swings, Potts had three kills and three blocks, and Akouri had two blocks to help complete the sweep.
Reed hit .524 for the match, recording 13 kills on 21 swings to go along with five aces and three blocks. Mullen had eight kills, six digs, and two blocks, Potts had six kills and tied a program record with eight blocks, and Ritter had 27 assists and three aces.
For the second time this season the Leopards and the Brewers met and the opening set of this match was a back and forth affair, featuring nine ties and eight lead changes. Wentworth led by as many as four on three occasions, including after a Reed kill made it 20-16. Vassar battled back to tie the set at 22-all and led 23-22. However, three straight Leopard points closed out the set. Potts had four kills on five swings, Reed added three kills, and Ritter had a pair of blocks.
Wentworth took a 2-0 lead after forcing Vassar to hit -.062 in the second set; a set that was all the Leopards after a 1-1 tie. Reed added three more kills in the set with Potts, Mullen, and senior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) added two each.
The Brewers avoided the sweep after forcing the Leopards .000 for the set. In a frame that featured seven ties and three lead changes, Vassar had a 24-21 lead before Wentworth rolled off four straight points to serve for the set at 25-24. However, a Vassar kill and a block gave the hosts a 26-25 lead. Reed tied it up with a kill but the Brewers took advantage of two Wentworth errors to extend the match. Donahue had three kills and three blocks and Reed added two kills and two blocks.
Wentworth closed out the match with a win in the fourth set, again forcing the hosts to post a negative attack percentage (-.037). The set featured seven ties and three lead changes with the last tie coming at 11-all. The Leopards held a 22-17 lead after a block by Donahue and Reed and after Vassar cut it to 23-19, back-to-back kills from Reed and Potts closed out the match. Reed had five kills in the set, Potts had three kills and four blocks, and freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) had three kills and two blocks.
Reed finished with 13 kills, nine digs, and three blocks while Potts had 11 kills and seven blocks. Donahue added eight kills, hit .600, and had five blocks, Mullen had seven kills and 10 digs, and Ritter had 38 assists, nine digs, and six blocks.
Wentworth hosts Rivier on Tuesday evening.
New Jersey City
Vassar