PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The Wentworth men's volleyball team is headed back to Boston after a 1-1 showing at the St. John Fisher Cardinal Classic held in Pittsford, N.Y. The Leopards opened the 2019 season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the host Cardinals, before dropping a 3-1 decision to Wells College. The 11:00 a.m. game slated for Saturday morning against Elmira was canceled due to the impending snow storm.
Match One – Wentworth 3, St. John Fisher 2 (22-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-20, 15-12)
Junior Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios (San Juan, P.R.) and sophomore Sean Spencer (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) jumped up for a final block to seal the 3-2 victory over the host Cardinals in the 2019 season opener. The Leopards battled back and took the second and third sets, before the duo's block capped a 15-12 score in the deciding set in the opening game of the Cardinal Classic.
Rodriguez-Guerrios set a career-high mark of 43 assists, while Spencer hit .400 (6K-2E-10TA) with five blocks (4BA, 1BS).
The Leopards fell to a 25-22 score in their opening set of 2019, as the host Cardinals took their first set of the year in just their second season as a varsity program. In the second frame, freshman Drew Hesse (Eden, N.Y.) served four straight points to break a 4-4 tie, forcing St. John Fisher into a timeout. Despite the break from the Cardinals, the Leopards stayed out front for the set's remainder, despite the Maroon and Black pulling within a single point late in the set, 17-16.
Neither team gained an advantage of more than three points in the third set, leading to a lengthened frame before junior Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.) swung into back-to-back kills for the 27-25 win. The Cardinals battled back to even the match score (2-2) with a 25-20 set win in the fourth, leading both teams into a deciding set. A WIT attack error gave the hosts an early 1-0 advantage, but a kill apiece from Spencer, Hesse, and junior Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) put Wentworth out in front for the set's remainder, despite four set ties.
Engel paced the Black and Gold attack with 15 kills, six digs, and four assisted blocks. Defensively, sophomore Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.) and Hesse split 19 digs apiece, while Hesse also finished with seven kills in his first collegiate match. Love had 10 kills to round out WIT's top hitters, while he, Engel, Hesse, and sophomore David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) swung into two aces apiece.
Match Two – Wells 3, Wentworth 1 (20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25)
The Express, who also head back home with a 1-1 record after the tournament, bested the Leopards in the third and fourth sets 25-18 after exchanging victories in the opening two frames. Junior Scott Skarzynski (Webster, N.Y.) contributed seven kills to pace the Leopard offense while Klembczyk and freshman Connor Adams (Budd Lake, N.J.) split defensive duties with 11 digs each.
Wentworth (1-1) is set to host Newbury College in its home opener on Thursday, January 24 with first serve slated for 7:00 p.m.
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