BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) recorded 16 kills to help pace the Springfield College men's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology match on Wednesday night at Tansey Gymnasium. Sophomore Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) led the Leopards with 11 kills.
With the loss, Wentworth drops to 10-6, while Springfield, ranked number one in the country, improves their record to 17-1.
In the opening frame, Springfield hit .562 behind six kills from Vega, along with two digs from sophomore Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Jan, Puerto Rico). Springfield gathered a 4-0 run together to extend their lead to 13-9, while a service error committed by Wentworth allowed the Pride to take the first set, 25-17. Roat and sophomore Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) paced the Leopards with three kills each in the first frame.
The Pride carried their momentum from the first set into the second set and locked down a 25-17 victory to take the 2-0 lead. Springfield began the set off with a bang as they racked up five straight points to take the quick 5-0 lead and continued to increase their lead. The Pride took a 20-9 lead, but Wentworth regrouped and used a 4-0 run to pull within seven of Springfield at 24-17. A kill from the hands of Vega gave the Pride the win.
Vega powered out six kills with junior Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) racking up 12 assists for Springfield to lead the Pride to a 3-0 sweep with the 25-21 triumph. The Leopards began the third set off with a 6-3 run, including two kills from junior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.). After Wentworth went up 12-8, the equalizer for Springfield was on a kill by Jasuta. After Jasuta evened the score, Springfield took the lead and never looked back. A service ace by sophomore Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) allowed Wentworth to pull within two at 23-21, but a kill by senior Julian Welsh-White (Collingswood, N.J.) helped cap off the Pride's 25-21 over the Leopards.
In addition of Vega's 16 kills, junior Trevor Mattson (Redlands, Calif.) had eight kills, while sophomore Tucker Evans (Midlothian, Va.) and White had five apiece. White and Ayala also had two blocks each with freshman Eli Irizarry Pares (San Juan, Puerto Rico) registered five digs and junior Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) racking up 33 assists.
Roat paced the Leopard offense with 11 kills. Sophomore Kevin McPeek (Bethlehem, Pa.) racked up 16 assists, while Reed had eight digs in addition to two blocks from Mullen.
Wentworth hosts conference foe Johnson & Wales on Saturday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m.
