BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had 11 kills on 11 swings for a perfect 1.000 attack percentage and senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 10 kills on 16 swings without making an error (.625) as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team picked up a 3-0 win over Lasell in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win, the 14th-ranked Leopards improve to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in league play while the Lasers fall to 1-11 (0-1).
Wentworth jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set, thanks in part to kills from Oshman and sophomore Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.) before the two of them teamed up for a block. Lasell scored five of the next seven points and came within a pair on a block from freshman Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.) and junior Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.). The Leopards used a 5-2 spurt to take a 14-9 lead after a sophomore Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) kill, however, the Lasers came back and pulled within one on two occasions, including when a service error made it 17-16. Wentworth scored three of the next four points to take a 20-17 lead on a sophomore Xhuljo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) but three straight Lasell points evened the set at 20-all. An attack error gave Wentworth a 21-20 lead before a freshman Conor Leary-Watson (Bethany, Conn.) kill evened the set at 21-all. A pair of kills from Ritter and a block from Ritter and Oshman made it 24-21 and Ritter ended the set with a kill. Oshman hit a perfect 1.000 (5-0-5) in the set to go along with two blocks while Ritter hit .667 (4-0-6) and Love added four kills. The Leopards hit .400 as a team.
The second set saw Wentworth take a 4-0 lead as freshman Sean Spencer (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and Ritter each recorded kills and the Leopards took advantage of two Lasell attack errors. The Black & Gold bumped their lead to 9-4 after an Oshman kill and didn't allow Lasell to come within fewer than three points, which the Lasers did at 16-13. Love recorded a kill and a block and Wentworth took advantage of an error to make it 19-13. A kill from Leary-Watson and an Leopard attack error made it 19-15, however, Wentworth scored six of the set's final eight points and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-17 win. Oshman remained perfect on the match as he had four kills on four swings while Ritter had five kills on nine swings without an error (.556). The Leopards hit .419 as a team in the second set.
In the third set, Leary-Watson recorded a kill to make it 5-4, however, Wentworth used an 8-1 run and took a 13-5 lead after a Zyba kill. The Lasers pulled to within seven at 17-10 after an attack error, however would come no closer as the hosts closed out the match on an 8-2 run, using Oshman's 11th kill of the night to complete the sweep.
Oshman also recorded three blocks while Ritter also had two blocks and 14 assists. Love added six kills, Engel had five kills, and Zyba added four kills. Sophomore Augusto Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (San Juan, P.R.) dished out 21 assists in the win. As a team Wentworth hit .403 and forced the Lasers to hit .044.
Leary-Watson and junior Nathan Gallo (North Providence, R.I.) each had seven kills for Lasell. Henriquez had 26 assists.
Wentworth is back in action tomorrow night at Emerson.
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.
