Men's Volleyball Runs Win Streak to Four

NASHUA, N.H. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team ran its win streak to four by picking up a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference victories in a tri-match hosted by Rivier University. The Leopards snapped a 13-match road losing streak to the Raiders, winning for the first time at Rivier since Feb. 19, 2000 with a 3-1 win and capped off the day with a 3-0 win over Mount Ida.

With the pair of wins the Leopards improve to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in GNAC play.

WENTWORTH 3, RIVIER 1
Wentworth swept the season series from Rivier by hitting .414 as a team. Junior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) had 14 kills, hit .550, and added eight blocks, while sophomore Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) added 14 kills on 18 swings with zero errors (.778) to go along with 10 digs and four blocks in the win.

The Leopards hit .444 as a team in the opening set and battled back from an early deficit as the Raiders held a 9-7 lead. However a 10-3 run gave the visitors a 17-10 lead when Potts and sophomore Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) combined for a block. Two straight Rivier points pulled the hosts within five but Wentworth extended its lead to 22-13 after Potts served an ace. The Raiders would come as close as 24-18 but Potts closed out the set with an ace.

In the second set there were 13 ties and five lead changes as the two teams battled back and forth the entire way. Rivier served for the set after a Leopard attack error, however Potts recorded a kill to extend the match. The Raiders would again have set point at 25-24 but Wentworth scored the next three points, as Potts recorded a kill and the Raider made back-to-back attack errors, to take a 27-25 win. Wentworth had another strong offensive set, hitting .441 as a team.

Rivier extended the match with a 25-23 win in the third set. The Raiders built a 15-11 lead before four straight Wentworth points tied the set at 15-all and a Mullen kill gave the Black & Gold a 16-15 advantage. The Leopards would take a 22-20 lead when Roat and Potts combined for a block, however three straight RIvier points gave the Raiders a 23-22 lead. A Rivier service error evened the set at 23-all but the hosts scored the next two points to take the set.

After falling behind 15-13 in the fourth set, the Leopards rolled off four straight points to take a 17-15 lead after an attack error. Rivier would regain the lead at 19-18 but four straight Wentworth points gave the Leopards the lead for good and Wentworth would go on to win the set by a 25-21 score.

Junior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) chipped in with 10 kills as did sophomore Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.). Oshman also had four blocks. Roat finished with seven kills and five blocks in the match. Sophomore Kevin McPeek (Bethlehem, Pa.) had 45 assists.

WENTWORTH 3, MOUNT IDA 0
The Leopards picked up their ninth straight set victory of the season after hitting .329 as a team and forcing Mount Ida to hit .042.

After falling behind early in the opening set Wentworth used a 6-1 run to take a 6-3 lead. However, the Mustangs battled back to take a 9-8 lead after an attack error. The lead would not last long as a Mullen kill evened the score at 9-all and ignited a 17-5 run to close out the set as the Leopards picked up a 25-14 win. Wentworth hit .421 in the opening frame and forced Mount Ida to hit -.087.

Wentworth began the second set on a 10-4 run and extended its lead to 19-10 after a sophomore Lucas Grevers (Norwalk, Conn.) kill. Mount Ida scored the next six points to pull within three before a freshman Brian Drouse (Dallas, Pa.) ended the run. Mount Ida would come within three on two other occasions, including at 20-17, however the Leopards picked up the 25-20 win.

The Leopards found themselves trailing by as many as two on three occasions early in the third set and with the score tied at 11-all would roll off four straight points to take a 15-11 lead on a junior Paul Cooke (Ridgefield, Conn.) kill. Wentworth would lead by as many as six late in the set before taking a 25-20 win.

A balanced attack paced the Leopards with Mullen leading the way with six kills. Junior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) and Reed each had five kills and added four and three blocks, respectively. Drouse and Grevers had four kills each, and McPeek and Cooke had 20 and eight assists, respectively.

Wentworth is at MIT on Thursday.