SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories on Saturday to improve to 12-2 on the season. The Leopards defeated Hunter, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-22) before upsetting defending national champion and No. 5 Springfield, 3-1 (25-15, 29-27, 18-25, 25-16).
Wentworth and Hunter battled through four ties and a pair of lead changes early before the Leopards took the lead for good on a sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) kill, 11-10. The Leopards would lead by as many as four on eight occasions, and closed the set on a senior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) kill. The Leopards hit .429 in the opening frame behind five kills apiece from Reed and Donahue.
The Leopards forced the Hawks to hit -.100 in the second set, leading wire to wire to take a 2-0 lead. As a team the Black & Gold hit .500, which included four kills on four swings from freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) and three kills each from freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) and Reed.
Looking to keep the match alive, Hunter held a 19-15 lead before Wentworth rolled off four straight points to tie the set at 19-all. The Hawks took advantage of a Leopard service error and then served an ace to lead, 21-19, and held a 22-20 lead before five straight Wentworth points closed out the match. Reed had four kills and three blocks in the set and Donahue also recorded four kills.
Reed finished the match with 12 kills, two aces, and five blocks while Donahue had 10 kills, three blocks, and hit .467. Sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) had six kills and three blocks, Roat finished with seven kills, and sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 38 assists and seven digs.
In the opening set against Springfield, the Leopards forced the Pride to hit -.037. The teams had four ties in the early stages, however a 6-2 Wentworth run – fueled by three Springfield attack errors – put the Leopards on top 10-4. Wentworth, which hit .367 in the set, wouldn't let the Pride close within any fewer than five points. Reed had four kills in the set with Roat and Potts adding three each.
Wentworth took a 2-0 lead in the match after a back-and-forth affair which featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. Springfield would take a 20-18 lead, however the Leopards quickly responded with three straight points to take a 21-20 lead on a Ritter kill. The Leopards had a chance to close the set out at 24-23, 25-24, and 26-25, before finding themselves trailing 27-26. A kill by Mullen was followed up by a Pride attack error and with Mullen serving Donahue nailed a kill to close out the set. Potts had five kills and two blocks in the set with Mullen and Donahue adding three each.
The hosts made it a 2-1 match in the third set as the Leopards were forced to a match-low .083 attack percentage and Springfield hit .417. The teams went back and forth to start the set and were tied 10-all before Springfield jumped ahead with a 5-1 spurt. Wentworth eventually closed the gap to 18-16, however Springfield scored seven of the match's final nine points to stay alive. Reed had three of the Leopards' eight kills in the set.
Wentworth jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the fourth set and led 15-11 after a point was awarded to the Leopards for the Pride being out of rotation. That point started an 8-2 run which gave the Leopards a 23-13 lead on an ace from Reed. Springfield scored the next two points to pull within eight, however a Mullen kill made it 24-15. Springfield pulled to 24-16 after a service error, but any hopes of a comeback were thwarted when Roat clinched the upset on a kill. Reed and Mullen had four kills each in the set.
Potts, Reed, and Mullen each recorded 11 kills in the win with Reed serving three aces and having four blocks and Potts registering five blocks. Roat had eight kills, 14 digs, and four blocks, Donahue had seven kills and four blocks, and Ritter, who moved into third place on the Leopards' all-time assist list, had 42 helpers, two aces, three blocks, and eight digs.
Wentworth hosts its fourth nationally ranked foe of the season next Saturday when No. 10 NYU comes to Tansey Gymnasium for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Hunter