BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team, ranked sixth in the latest AVCA Division III Men's Poll, ran its win streak to five matches as the Leopards defeated both Emerson and Albertus Magnus by identical 3-0 scores in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match at Tansey Gymnasium Sunday. The middle match saw Emerson defeat Albertus Magnus, 3-0.
No. 6 Wentworth 3, Emerson 0
The Leopards scored the first five points of the opening set and never looked back, hitting .625 (11-1-16) in the frame and forcing the Lions to hit -.105. Wentworth's lead increased to 9-1 before Emerson scored two straight points, however the Black & Gold extended their lead to 14-3 with five straight points, and, after Emerson cut the lead to 15-6, nine straight points by the hosts extended the lead. Wentworth won 25-7. Junior Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.), junior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.), and senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) each had three kills in the set. Oshman was a perfect 3-0-3 in the frame.
In the opening of the second set there were three ties, including at 6-all before Wentworth scored five of the next six points and took an 11-7 lead after a service error. Emerson crept back in within two at 11-9, however a 6-1 Leopard run extended the lead to 17-10 after a service error. The Lions countered with four of the next five points to make it 19-14 but Wentworth closed out the set on a 6-0 run to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-14 lead. Six different Leopards recorded kills in the set including junior Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) who also served two aces. Senior Mike Rogachefsky (Rochester, N.Y.) had four digs in the frame.
Wentworth closed out the match with a 25-16 win in the third set, a set which saw senior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y) hit 1.000 (4-0-4). The Leopards jumped out to a 7-2 lead after an ace from junior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.). Emerson scored six of the next nine points to pull within three at 11-8 and again at 12-9. Four of the next five points were scored by the Leopards, capped off by a Hansen block, to make the score 16-10. The lead would swell to eight on three occasions before Hansen's fourth kill of the set ended the match.
Reed led Wentworth with seven kills and didn't make an error on 12 swings (.583). Hansen finished with five kills and didn't make an error on seven swings (.714) to go along with two blocks. Roat also had five kills. Mullen and senior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) served three aces each while Ritter had 19 assists in the match.
No. 6 Wentworth 3, Albertus Magnus 0
The Leopards jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the set thanks to a pair of aces from freshman Scott Skarzynski (Webster, N.Y.). After the Falcons scored the next two points to make it 7-4, Wentworth rolled off six straight points, which included a pair of kills from freshman Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) to make it 13-4. Albertus scored three consecutive points bringing the score to 13-7 but Wentworth responded with 12 of the next 15 points – including six consecutive at one point – to take the set 25-10. During the 6-0 run Love served four aces which included three in a row. Love had four kills in the set without an error (4-0-9) to go along with his four aces while Skarzynski added three kills. Wentworth hit .417 in the frame and forced the Falcons to hit -.143.
Wentworth opened the second set on a 9-1 run which included three straight kills from freshman Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.). The Falcons went on a 7-3 run and closed the gap to 12-8 after a service ace. A service error ended Albertus' run but began a 7-1 run which gave the hosts a 19-9 lead after a freshman Xhuljo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) kill. The Falcons ended the run after a service error but that would be as close as they would get as Wentworth took the set 25-10. Wentworth hit .500 in the set thanks to three kills apiece from Engel, Skarzynski, and Zyba and a pair of aces from freshman Jesse Lefler (Rochester, N.Y.).
The Black & Gold completed their second sweep of the day with a 25-7 win in the third set, a set which featured the lone tie of the match at 2-2. From there, Wentworth rolled off six straight points to break the set open. After a service error made it 10-4, Wentworth took a commanding 18-5 lead. The Leopards hit .579 in the set while the Falcons hit -.545. Engel had seven kills on seven swings for a perfect 1.000 attack percentage in the set.
Engel finished with 12 kills, an attack percentage of .733 (12-1-15), and three aces. Skarzynski had six kills and two aces, Love had six kills, and six aces, and freshman Noah Adelstein (Fairfield, Conn.) had five kills and hit .556 (5-0-9). Lefler and freshman Augusto Rodriguez-Garrios (Guaynabo, P.R.) has 16 and 13 assists, respectively. Wentworth hit .492 as a team.
Wentworth (17-5, 6-0 GNAC) is at Lasell on Thursday.
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