NASHUA, N.H. – Juniors Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) and Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) each recorded 12 kills and seven digs as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team picked up a 3-1 victory over Rivier in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match Tuesday evening.
With the win the Leopards, ranked 10th in the latest AVCA Division III Men's Volleyball Poll, improve to 20-6 overall and 9-1 in GNAC play while the Raiders fall to 17-10 (8-3). This marks the fifth straight season – and sixth time in the last seven years – that Wentworth has reached the 20-win plateau.
The opening set featured seven ties in the early going before Rivier took a 13-10 lead. Three straight Wentworth points, capped off by a block from juniors Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) evened the score at 13-all and the teams would tie two more times before a 4-1 spurt by the Leopards gave them an 18-16 lead after Roat and senior Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) combined for a block. After two more tied Wentworth regained the lead and fended off the Raiders, 25-23.
Rivier evened the match at a set apiece with a 25-17 win in the second frame. After back-to-back attack errors cut the Raiders' lead from 13-10 to 13-12, the hosts used a 7-2 run to make it 20-14. Wentworth scored three of the next five points, however Rivier got three straight kills to end the set.
Wentworth jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the third set, however saw the Raiders use a 5-1 run to pull within a pair at 12-10. The Leopards strung together an 8-2 run which was capped off by an attack error and took a 20-12 lead. Rivier scored four of the next five points to come within five at 21-16, however the Black & Gold countered with four of the next five points itself to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 win.
The Leopards led by as many as five on two occasions in the fourth set, including after an attack error made it 16-11. The Raiders scored three straight points to come within a pair, however a Roat kills capped off a stretch of five of the next eight points to give Wentworth some breathing room at 21-17. A kill from Roat would give Wentworth set point at 24-20, however Rivier scored the next three points to pull within one. The Raiders would not extend the match after a service error gave Wentworth a 25-23 win.
In addition to his 12 kills and seven digs, Roat also added a pair of blocks. Senior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) had nine kills, Oshman finished with four kills and six blocks while Hansen had three kills and nine blocks. Ritter had 36 assists, three aces, and seven blocks in the win.
Wentworth travels to Albertus Magnus on Saturday for a tri-match with the Falcons and eighth-ranked Lasell.
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