SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches in a tri-match hosted by Springfield College. The Leopards dropped a 3-0 decision to the top-ranked Pride and were edged, 3-2, by Hunter.
No. 1 Springfield 3, No. 7 Wentworth 0
The top-ranked Pride improved to 18-1 on the season with the 3-0 win as Springfield hit .409 as a team. In the opening set Springfield scored the first three points and after Wentworth scored two of the next three points on kills from senior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) and junior Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) to make it 4-2, the hosts went on a 9-2 run and never looked back, taking a 25-15 win.
Wentworth took a 3-1 lead to open the second set before four straight points by Springfield made it 5-3. Senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) pulled the Leopards within one (6-5) after a kill but the Pride scored six straight points to take a 12-5 lead. The teams traded three-point spurts which made it 15-8. A Potts kills capped off a 6-2 run which made it 17-14 before Springfield responded with a 5-1 run. Wentworth pulled back within three after scoring the next four points and came within three again at 24-21 but fell, 25-21.
The third set was a tightly contested affair with Springfield taking a 12-9 lead. A pair of errors pulled Wentworth within one (12-11), however the Pride scored six of the next nine points and led, 18-14. The Leopards pulled within two points on three occasions, including at 23-21, however Springfield scored the final two points to take a 25-21 win.
Potts finished with eight kills and two blocks while Reed had six kills and three blocks. Senior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) and Mullen each had four kills while junior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had four blocks. Junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and freshman Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (Guaynabo, P.R.) had 11 and nine assists, respectively.
Hunter 3, No. 7 Wentworth 2
In a rematch of the 2016 NCAA Tournament match, Wentworth rallied from a 2-1 deficit for force a fifth set, however the Hawks prevailed with a 16-14 win in the deciding set.
Wentworth took the opening set, 25-22. A pair of ties early led to a 3-2 Hunter lead before the Leopards went on an 8-1 run and took a 10-4 lead after Potts and Oshman combined for a block. The Hawks scored seven of the next 10 points to pull within a pair at 13-11. Wentworth responded with three straight points to go ahead by five and would hold a five-point lead two other times, including when Mullen recorded a kill to make it 22-17. Hunter scored three straight points to make it 22-20 and the Hawks trailed 24-22 before Reed ended the set with a kill.
The second set saw neither team lead by more than two points at any time in the frame. Wentworth took a 19-17 lead after a Ritter kill, the Leopards' fourth two-point lead in the set. The Hawks scored five of the next six points to reclaim the lead at 22-20. Reed recorded a kill making it 22-21 and after Hunter went back up by a pair, Ritter and Hansen combined for a block to pull Wentworth back within one before Hunter scored the final two points of the set to even the match with a 25-22 win.
Wentworth scored the first three points of the third set before Hunter eventually would take an 8-7 lead. Scoring four of the next five points, the Leopards took an 11-9 lead. Hunter scored two quick points to knot the score at 11-all and the teams went back and forth until Wentworth took an 18-16 lead on a Mullen kill. Three straight Hunter points gave the Hawks a 19-18 lead. Out of a timeout, Hansen and Potts combined for a block to even the score. A Mullen kill gave the Leopards set point at 24-23 and the Black & Gold would have set point at 26-25 after staving off set point at 25-24. However, the Hawks scored three straight points, which included the 18th tie of the frame, to take the 28-26 win and a 2-1 win.
The Leopards forced a fifth and deciding set with a 25-14 win in the fourth set. A tightly contested opening led to Wentworth outscoring Hunter 14-6 to take a 17-9 lead after a block from Reed and Oshman. Two quick Hawk points made it 17-11 but Wentworth responded with four of the next five points to 21-12 and would score the final four points of the set to set up the fifth set.
In the deciding set, Wentworth took an 8-4 lead as three of the Leopards' fist seven points came off Reed kills. Hunter pulled within one with three straight points to make it 8-7, however five of the next nine points came from the Leopards, who took a 13-10 lead after a kill from Hansen. The Hawks made it 13-11 before a Reed kill gave the Leopards match point. Hunter stayed alive with a kill, which started five straight points to give the Hawks the upset.
Reed finished with 24 kills, three aces, 10 digs, and three blocks. Mullen had 18 kills, three aces, eight digs, and three blocks. Potts finished with eight kills, eight digs, and six blocks, Hansen had nine blocks, and two aces, and Oshman had seven blocks. Ritter had 49 assists in the match.
At 12-5 Wentworth heads to California next weekend for the Posada Royale Invitational.
For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
