BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team won a pair of matches Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match at Tansey Gymnasium, defeating Emerson (25-11, 25-18, 26-24) and Johnson & Wales (25-23, 25-20, 25-23) in three sets each.
Wentworth improves to 20-5 (9-2 GNAC), while Emerson stands at 3-12 (2-9 GNAC) and Johnson & Wales is 18-8 (6-4 GNAC). This marks the third straight season - and fourth time in the last five seasons - the Black & Gold have eclipsed the 20-win mark.
In the Leopards' first match against Emerson, Wentworth cruised in the first set to capture it 25-11. The Leopards strung together a pair of four-point streaks, with sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) serving three aces over the two runs. Freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.), sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.), and Reed each had three kills in the opening set. Potts led the second set with five kills, as the Leopards hit .417 as a group. Junior Jackson Wiley (Los Angeles, Calif.) led Emerson with four kills in the set.
Freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) had two of his three service aces in the set during a 5-0 run, which helped propel the Leopards over the Lions 25-18 in the second set. After the Leopards led 19-13, the Lions put together a 6-1 run to trail by a point. Emerson tied the score at 24 after a Wiley kill, but a kill and service ace by Roat wrapped up the set 26-24 and won Wentworth the afternoon's first match.
Reed led the match with 11 kills and four service aces, while hitting .429. Roat had seven kills and a pair of blocks and Potts had nine kills and five blocks. Sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) tallied 28 assists. Wiley finished with 10 kills for the Lions.
In the second match of the afternoon, Johnson & Wales topped Emerson 3-1. After Emerson took the first set 25-23, Johnson & Wales took the next three sets 25-18, 25-23, 25-18.
The Leopards wrapped up the afternoon with a 3-0 win over Johnson & Wales. The Wildcats led for a good chuck of the first set, until a Potts kill tied the set at 11-all. Roat and Mullen each had four kills in the opening set to help lift the Leopards to the 25-23 set victory. The second set was another tightly contested set up until the score was tied at 15. Wentworth strung together a 6-2 run to lead 21-17. The Wildcats looked to be making a comeback when senior Don Dias (Scituate, R.I.) recorded a kill to bring his team within three. However a Reed kill and service ace by Potts sealed the second set for the Leopards to take it 25-20. Dias led the set with five kills. Mullen and Reed had four kills.
Johnson & Wales opened the third set with three straight points, but that would be the largest lead held in the third set. Wentworth battled back and kept the score close, evening it at 21 a piece. The set remained a one point game until Reed closed the match with a pair of kills to win 25-23.
Reed had 14 kills, two aces, and three blocks. Mullen added nine kills, Roat had eight kills and three blocks, and Potts had five kills and five blocks. Ritter added 36 more assists.
For the day Reed finished with 25 kills, six service aces, 16 digs, six blocks, and hit .339. Potts had 14 kills and 10 blocks and Roat finished with 15 kills, 11 digs, five blocks. Ritter totaled 64 helpers over the two matches. The Leopards committed only one receiving error in the two games.
Wentworth plays its final home match of the regular season on Tuesday, when the Leopards host conference foe Rivier at 7 p.m. Emerson returns home Tuesday night to host GNAC opponent Mount Ida, while Johnson & Wales hosts Albertus Magnus on Tuesday night in a conference matchup of its own.
