Men's Volleyball Tops St. Joseph's (L.I.) in Four Sets

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – Three student-athletes on the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team (10-6) combined for 52 kills in an intense 3-1 victory over the St. Joseph's (L.I.) Golden Eagles (8-7) in non-conference play Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A back-and-forth first set began in Wentworth's favor on a kill from junior Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), marking a 1-0 score. LaBouliere's kills kept the Leopards neck-and-neck with the Golden Eagles until a kill from senior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) eventually tied the score at eight-all following a one-point deficit. Wentworth expanded their lead off of errors and a kill from freshman Brayden Green (Lake Worth, Fla.) marked a 19-13 advantage. After a push back from the hosts cut the deficit to 23-20, Wentworth snagged a 25-20 set win on errors.
• The Golden Eagles got out to a 4-2 lead to open the second set and a kill by sophomore Sam Etter (Massillon, Ohio) cut the deficit to one at 4-3. St. Joseph's held a narrow advantage until two-straight kills from Etter gave Wentworth a 11-9 lead. The two teams traded points until the hosts separated themselves in a 23-18 score. Kills by Etter and LaBouliere delayed Saint Joseph's set win to a 25-20 score, knotting the match at one set apiece.
• The two teams traded points to start the third set, with the Leopards getting kills from LaBouliere, Etter, freshman Nicolai Bell (Moraga, Calif.) and freshman Matthew Zegowitz (Westford, Mass.), marking a 8-8 score. A kill from junior Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) helped the Leopards' gain separation at a 11-8 score. The Leopards continued separating themselves with a LaBouliere kill in a 19-13 score, and Oshman and Etter kills brought their lead to 23-20 before a LaBouliere kill gave Wentworth a 25-23 set win, putting themselves ahead 2-1.
• Wentworth maintained a two-point advantage for much of the start of the fourth set, earning a 3-1 edge off of an Oshman kill, 4-2 with an Etter kill, and another Etter kill would stretch the Leopards' lead to 6-3. Kills from Oshman and LaBouliere brought Wentworth's lead to 8-4. A Bell kill pushed Wentworth's lead to 11-6 before kills by Etter, LaBouliere, and Oshman continued the advantage to 16-11. Kills by LaBouliere and Etter brought the Leopards' lead to 18-13 just before service aces by LaBouliere and sophomore Josh Milke (Eastampton, N.J.) grabbed the Leopards a 25-16 set win, earning the Black & Gold a 3-1 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight's match marked the first between the two teams since 2019, with Wentworth winning two of the last three matchups.

 NEXT UP:

• The Black & Gold travel to New Jersey City for a tri-match tomorrow against the hosts (11:00 a.m.) and Misericordia (1:00 p.m.).

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