Men's Volleyball Rallies Past Endicott

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) recorded his second straight triple-double as he had 12 kills, 26 assists, and 11 digs while classmate Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had 13 kills and eight blocks to help the 10th-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeat Endicott, 3-2, in non-conference action Thursday night at Tansey Gymnasium.

With the win the Leopards improve to 5-2 on the season while the Gulls suffer their first loss of the season, falling to 7-1.

Wentworth took leads of 4-2 and 6-4 in the opening set, with the latter coming on a block from Oshman and Ritter. Endicott scored five of the next seven points, taking a 9-8 lead on a junior Seth Braquet (Destrehan, La.) kill and extended its lead to 16-9 after a kill from Braquet. A service error broke the run, however, the Gulls extended their lead to 21-12. Wentworth scored three of the next four points and trailed, 22-15, after an attack error, however, Endicott took the first set, 25-17. Lipton hit .500 (5-1-8) in the set while senior Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) hit .800 (4-0-5) with a pair of aces. Ritter hit .750 for the Black & Gold (3-0-4) while junior Jessie Lefler (Rochester, N.Y.) also had three kills.

A kill from Oshman and a block from Oshman and sophomore Ryan Engel Floral Park, N.Y.) gave Wentworth a 2-0 lead to open the second set. Endicott took advantage of a pair of Leopard errors as well as junior Adam Dake (Victor, N.Y.) serving an ace and sophomore Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) to take a 4-2 lead. The Leopards battled back to take a 7-6 lead on a block from Ritter and sophomore Scott Skarzynski (Webster, N.Y.). The teams battled through three ties before the hosts took a 12-9 lead on a kill from Oshman. Wentworth led, 14-11, after a service error before Endicott scored three of the next four points and pulled within one (15-14) on a service error. The Leopards scored the next four points, capped off by a kill from Ritter, and led 19-14. Endicott trimmed the lead to three, 23-20, after an attack error, however, Wentworth evened the match with a 25-20 win. Oshman hit .667 (4-0-6) in the set, while senior Jon Roat (Rochester, N.Y). had four kills. Braquet had three kills in the set for the Gulls.

Endicott scored the first three points of the third set, thanks to a Wentworth attack error and a pair of kills from Lipton, and held a 6-4 lead before a pair of errors evened the score at 6-all. Riorden and Braquet combined for a black to tie the score at 9-all before Wentworth scored four of the next six points, taking a 13-11 lead after a ball handling error. The Gulls pulled with a point on three occasions, including at 15-14, before four straight Wentworth points gave the hosts a 19-14 lead. Three straight points brought the visitors to within a pair before Oshman recorded a kill to stop the spurt. However, the Gulls used kills from Braquet and Lipton to pull within one and Riorden tied the set at 20-all with a kill. Five more ties followed before an ace from junior Jacob Newman (Chester, N.H.) and a kill from Riorden gave the Gulls a 2-1 lead with a 27-25 win. Lipton had eight kills in the set while Dey hit .800 (4-0-5). Oshman hit .500 (4-0-8) in the set for the Leopards.

The Gulls jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the fourth set before a kill from sophomore Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) and an Endicott error pulled the hosts to with one (5-4). Wentworth tied the score at 7-all on a block from Oshman and Ritter, and again at 8-all on a kill from Ritter which began a 9-0 run and ended on a kill from Oshman. A service error gave the hosts a 17-10 lead before two straight Endicott points made it 17-12. Love put down a kill to increase the lead to 18-12, however, a kill from Dey and an ace from Braquet cut the lead to 18-14. A pair of attack errors and block from Roat and Skarzynski pushed the lead to 21-14 and the hosts forced a deciding set with a 25-18 win. Love hit .800 (4-0-5) in the frame and also had two blocks, while Oshman had four blocks in the frame. Dey, Braquet, and Lipton had three kills apiece for Endicott. The Leopards forced the Gulls to hit -.036 in the set.

For the second straight match and fourth time this season, a fifth set was needed to decide the match. Wentworth trailed 2-1 in the set before taking a 4-2 lead on a kill from Roat. After a kill from Dey made it 4-3, Oshamn put down a kill and Endicott committed an error, giving the hosts a 6-3 advantage. Back-to-back Leopard errors made it 6-5 and Wentworth had an 8-6 lead at the changeover. After the teams traded points, Ritter recorded a kill then teamed with Skarzynski on a block to extend the lead to 11-7 before a Roat kill made it 12-7. A service error gave Endicott the serve at 12-8. The Gulls pulled within four at 14-10, however Wentworth held on to take the set, 15-10, and earn the 3-2 win. The hosts forced Endicott to hit negative for the second straight set as the Gulls were -.053 in the frame.

In addition to the triple-double, Ritter also had eight blocks. Roat completed the trio of Leopards who recorded double digits in kills as he had 10. Engel had six kills, nine digs, and three blocks, Love hit .833 (5-0-6) and had a pair of blocks, while Skarzynski had eight blocks. Sophomore Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (Guaynabo, P.R.) had 22 assists. Wentworth had 17 blocks as a team in the win.

Lipton led a trio of Gulls who recorded 10 or more kills as he had 18. Dey had 13 kills and five blocks, and Braquet added 10 kills and five blocks. Dake had 30 assists while junior Ryan Healy (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Riorden had 14 and 13 digs, respectively.

Wentworth opens Great Northeast Athletic Conference play a week from tonight (February 8) when the Leopards host Rivier. That same night Endicott hosts Lasell.

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