#12 Men's Volleyball Celebrates Senior Day with Sweep of Elms

BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team (24-7, 15-1 GNAC) dropped a five-set loss to Lasell (19-12, 13-3 GNAC), their first loss in 20 matches, before celebrating Senior Day with a sweep over Elms (5-24, 4-12 GNAC) Saturday afternoon, setting the stage with the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament tipping off next week.

 
MATCH ONE: LASELL 3, WENTWORTH 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Kills from juniors Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) and Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) set Wentworth out to a 2-1 advantage. Kills from Waga and freshman Benjamin Moughon (Mercer Island, Wash.) carried the lead to 5-3 before another kill and service ace from Moughon carried the lead to 9-5. As the Lasers marched back, a kill by Jack marked a 12-10 lead before a kill by sophomore Dave Arellanes (North Aurora, Ill.) extended the lead to 13-11. Lasell notched the next five-straight points, taking a 16-13 lead, and carried the momentum to grab a 25-16 set win and a 1-0 match lead.
• Tied at one apiece to start the second set, a kill from senior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) gave the hosts a 2-1 edge. After Lasell set out to a 7-4 lead, kills from Waga and freshman Mason Andrade (North Kingstown, R.I.) cut the deficit to 7-6. Lasell climbed with their lead to an eventual 16-11 lead until a Jack kill slowed their roll at 16-12. The Lasers held their lead to the end of the set, taking a 25-16 decision.
• Wentworth stretched to a 4-1 lead to start the third set with a kill from Waga and a service ace from sophomore Josh Milke (Eastampton, N.J.). Two-straight Waga kills marked a 6-2 lead before another two-straight later marked a 8-4 score. Lasell pushed back, but a kill from senior Tristan McDonough (Shelton, Conn.) marked a 16-13 lead for the hosts. Kills from Waga, McDonough, and Stockton helped guide the lead to 21-17 before kills from McDonough, Jack, and Andrade helped the Black & Gold grab a 25-21 set win, cutting the match deficit to 2-1.
• Kills from Jack, McDonough, Waga gave Wentworth a 4-1 lead in the fourth set and after a push back by the Lasers, a Stockton kill marked an 11-7 lead for the hosts. A kill from Waga continued the lead to 15-13 before back-to-back kills from McDonough and Andrade and back-to-back kills from Andrade and Milke marked a 19-16 advantage. A group of kills combined with errors for the opposition gave Wentworth a 25-19 set win, tying the match at 2-2.
• The Leopards set out to a commanding 6-1 lead to start the fifth set with kills from Jack and Stockton. However, the Lasers marched back to tie the set at 11-11. The two teams stayed neck-and-neck in the final going of the set, as the Lasers managed to snag a 15-13 set win and a 3-2 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Black & Gold have won three of the last four against the Lasers and own the all-time series record, 32-20.

MATCH TWO: WENTWORTH 3, ELMS 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Leopards' seniors got the match going as kills from Stockton and Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) put the hosts ahead 2-0. Later behind 4-3, a kill from senior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) knotted the score at 4-4. Wentworth took a 8-6 lead off of a kill by McDonough and extended it to 9-6 on a kill from Moughon. Another kill from McDonough continued the lead to 16-14 before a kill by Moughon continued the lead to 21-17. Errors plagued Elms in the final going, giving the Leopards a 25-19 set win and a 1-0 match lead.
• Wentworth shot out to a 9-0 lead to start the second set, as Moughon (4) and Waga (3) picked up multiple kills in the run. Back-to-back kills from Waga and McLane stretched the lead to 12-3 before back-to-back kills by McDonough and freshman Gabe Tucker (East Greenbush, N.Y.) marked a 15-4 advantage. Wentworth cruised to a 25-8 set win guided by two kills each from Moughon and Tucker, giving the hosts a 2-0 match lead.
• Kills from Moughon and sophomore Nick Cebula (West Springfield, Mass.) helped the Leopards get out to a 4-1 lead in the third set. After a push back by the opposition, two-straight kills from Andrade and a kill from sophomore Alek Reymond (Chittenango, N.Y.) marked a 7-5 lead. Another kill by Reymond marked a 13-7 lead before a kill by Moughon marked a 14-10 lead. A slew of Leopards' kills helped the team set out to a 21-16 lead before errors plagued Elms once more, giving the Leopards a 25-22 set win and a 3-0 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Wentworth owns an 18-4 all-time record against Elms.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards await their first opponent in the GNAC Tournament next week.

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