BEVERLY, Mass. – The eleventh ranked Endicott Gulls swept the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team in non-conference action Tuesday evening inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
The Gulls, who dipped from #10 to #11 in the latest AVCA DIII Men's Volleyball Poll, earn their sixth consecutive victory in straight sets, improving to 9-4 this season, while the Leopards drop to 7-4 overall.
The Leopards hung with the Gulls midway through each set, before the home team pulled away in the latter parts of the frame. Wentworth got off to a to a hot start in the non-conference affair, as junior Scott Skarzynski (Webster, N.Y.) and senior Brian Drouse (Dallas, Pa.) gave Wentworth a 12-8 lead in the first set. The Gulls then rattled off five straight points and stole the lead, 13-12, forcing the Leopards to burn a time out. Junior Xhulijo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) evened the score at 13-13, but a blast from Erich Roman (Glastonbury, Conn.) put Endicott ahead for good, despite the Leopards shrinking the deficit to three points.
Again tied at 13-all, the Gulls reached a turning point in set two with six straight points, highlighted by a pair of aces from top-hitter Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill). Wentworth chipped away at the score with kills from Zyba and junior Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.) but Endicott's run midway through the set sealed the 25-19 victory. The Gulls hit .727 in the middle set, followed by .550 hitting in the final frame to secure its first win against the Leopards since 2016.
Junior Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the Black & Gold with nine kills and an ace for ten points, while Zyba hit a team-high .429 with seven kills and one error on 14 swings.
Endicott held a 46-25 advantage in kills, and hit .453 in its second best hitting performance of the season, paced by 11 kills from Lipton. Jeremy Doski Sandy Hook, Conn.) and Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) each put down nine kills, while Doski hit .818 without an error on 11 attempts, and also recorded 22 assists as Endicott's primary setter. As a team, Endicott averages a .324 attack percentage, which ranks second among DIII national talent.
Wentworth returns to Tansey Gymnasium on Thursday after being on the road for four straight games. The Leopards step back into conference play with a 7:00 p.m. match against Emerson.
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