BOSTON, Mass. – After racing out to a 2-0 lead, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team appeared to be in control, however Emmanuel would take the next three sets to rally for a 3-2 win in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match played at the Jean Yawkey Center.
With the win the Saints improve to 6-8 overall and even their record at 4-4 while the Leopards, ranked 14th in the latest AVCA Division III Poll, see their five-match winning streak come to an end and stand at 18-5 (7-2).
The Leopards hit a blistering .500 in the opening set, making just one attack error on 18 swings, and forced Emmanuel to hit -.136. Sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) had three kills in the set with freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.), sophomore Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.), and freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) each recording two kills in a 25-12 win.
Using the momentum from the opening set, Wentworth cruised to a 2-0 lead after taking the second set by a 25-17 score. Reed had three kills and two blocks while Mullen and sophomore Alex Potts (Nverville, N.Y.) had two kills each. Once again the Leopards forced Emmanuel to have a negative attack percentage as the Saints hit -.077.
Featuring 11 ties and six lead changes, Emmanuel led by as many as four (20-16) and appeared to be in command. However, Wentworth would pull within one at 24-23 and had a chance to extend the set before an Emmanuel kill ended the set, 25-23. Roat and Potts had four kills each in the set while Mullen had three kills and a pair of blocks.
Emmanuel kept the match alive with a 25-20 win in the fourth set as the Saints led 17-16 and used an 8-4 spurt to close out the set. Wentworth recorded eight blocks as team in the set with Potts recording four and Hansen and Mullen recording three each.
The deciding set featured three ties early on before the Saints raced out to a 10-5 lead. Wentworth clawed its way back to tie the set at 11-all, however four straight Emmanuel points gave the Saints a 15-11 win to complete the comeback. Potts had four kids on five swings in the set.
Potts finished the match with 12 kills on 19 swings – without committing an error – to hit .632, while also serving three aces and recording seven blocks. Roat had 11 kills, two aces, and four blocks, and Reed also contributed 11 kills, two aces, and four blocks. Mullen had eight kills, seven digs, and six blocks, while sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 40 assists, eight digs, and four blocks.
As a team the Black & Gold had 17 blocks, the fifth highest single five-set match total in program history.
Wentworth hosts Emerson and Johnson & Wales in a GNAC tri-match on Saturday.
