BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Garrett Vermeulen (Fairport, N.Y.) led a balanced attack with seven kills to help the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team pick up their second straight win with a 3-0 triumph over Emerson in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action Thursday night.
With the win the Leopards improve to 11-4 overall and 4-1 in GNAC play while the Lions fall to 6-3 after dropping their conference opener.
The opening set saw three ties early before a service error gave Wentworth a 6-5 lead. The Leopards extended their lead to 11-7 on an attack error and held a 13-8 lead after senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) put down a kill. Emerson got a point back on a kill from freshman Samuel Willinger (Golden Beach, Fla.) before an 8-2 Leopard run – capped off by a senior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) kill – made it 21-11. The teams traded points, however, kills from sophomore Xhuljo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) and freshman Kevin Devine (Charlotte, Vt.) ended the set at 25-13. Wentworth, which hit .500 (12-2-20) in the set, had four kills on four swings from Ritter and three kills on six swings from Oshman.
Wentworth raced out to a 10-2 lead in the second set, thanks in part to a pair of Vermeulen kills, and led, 21-9, after a kill from junior Jessie Lefler (Rochester, N.Y). Emerson scored four of the next six points, however, would come not closer than 10 as a service errors gave the Black & Gold a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead. Vermeulen had three kills and a block as the Leopards hit .400 as a team.
The third set featured five ties in the early going with Wentworth tying the set at 6-all on a block from Lefler and junior Brian Drouse (Dallas, Pa.). That block started a 5-0 spurt which gave the Leopards a 10-6 lead. Emerson pulled within three on a pair of occasions, including when back-to-back kills from junior Win Kittivatcharapong (Bangkok, Thailand) made it 14-11. Wentworth scored the next three points and took a 17-11 lead after an attack error. Later in the set the Lions closed the gap to 22-20, but Wentworth scored the final three points to complete the sweep with a 25-20 win. Emerson was forced to hit -.114 in the third set.
Ritter finished with four kills on four swings while Oshman had four kills on eight swings with neither making an error for the second straight match. Ritter also had eight assists and two aces. Lefler finished with four kills, sophomore Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (San Juan, P.R.) had 17 assists, and Devine and freshman Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.) each had eight digs.
Kittivatcharapong led Emerson with eight kills.
Wentworth continues GNAC play on Saturday in a tri-match at Mount Ida where the Leopards will face Regis and the host Mustangs.
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