#2 Men's Volleyball Cruises over MIT, Rallies Past #1 Stevens to Open Season

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In their season-opening tri-match Saturday afternoon, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team (2-0) cruised past the MIT Engineers (0-1) in straight sets before rallying past nationally ranked No. 1 Stevens (3-1), besting the reigning national champion Ducks in five sets behind a team-high 17 kills by senior Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.).

MATCH ONE: WENTWORTH 3, MIT 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After going down 1-0 in the first set, a kill by LaBouliere knotted the score at one-all before a kill by junior Josh Milke (Eastampton, N.J.) later gave the Leopards a 5-3 lead. A kill by junior Sam Etter (Massillon, Ohio) later extended the lead to 9-5 before a kill by sophomore Nicolai Bell (Moraga, Calif.) paced the lead to 11-7. A kill by graduate student Brandon Dunz (Lake View, N.Y.) continued the lead to 13-9 before the Engineers later came back with five straight points to take a 16-15 lead. Behind 20-19, a kill by LaBouliere knotted the score at 20-all before the two teams swapped scores to a 24-24 set. However, kills by LaBouliere and Bell sealed a 26-24 set win for Wentworth.
• MIT raced out to a 3-1 lead in the second set before a kill by Dunz and service ace by LaBouliere later tied things up at 4-4. Two service aces by Dunz separated the Black & Gold in a 10-5 score before, after a push back by the Engineers, a LaBouliere kill marked a 13-11 score. MIT knotted the score at 16 aside before a kill by senior Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) gave Wentworth a one-point edge. A kill by LaBouliere helped Wentworth gain a 21-19 lead before two kills by Dunz helped the Leopards capture a 25-22 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
• Service aces and errors filled the early portion of the third set, working the score to 10-9 in favor of the Leopards before a kill by Etter marked an 11-9 lead. A kill by LaBouliere continued the lead to 12-10 before a kill by Waga later on marked a 17-14 advantage for Wentworth. A service ace by Dunz followed by back-to-back kills for Bell and Etter pushed the advantage to 20-14 before MIT came within three at 20-17. MIT pushed back, but a kill by LaBouliere and a block by the pair of Dunz and LaBouliere earned Wentworth a 25-21 set win and a 3-0 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today's meeting marked the 45^th all-time clash between the two teams.

MATCH TWO: WENTWORTH 3, STEVENS 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A kill by Waga gave Wentworth a 1-0 edge in the opening set before the two teams swapped points, working the score to 5-5 before a LaBouliere kill marked a 6-5 score. After Stevens took an 8-7 lead, a Waga kill knotted things up before the Ducks marched to a 12-8 advantage. Stevens held their lead, extending it along the way to 22-13, before Wentworth grabbed nine of the next ten points, behind multiple kills from Dunz and LaBouliere, to cut the deficit to 23-22. Stevens held on for a 25-23 set win.
• Two kills by Dunz gave Wentworth a 2-0 advantage in the second set before a string of kills by Waga and Etter pushed the lead to 7-3. A kill by freshman Conner Foxwell (Harrisburg, Pa.) continued the advantage to 8-4 before another by the rookie marked a 9-6 set. Wentworth later pushed the lead to 18-11 on a Waga service ace before kills by LaBouliere and Waga helped the Leopards to a 21-14 lead. A Dunz service ace capped a 25-19 set win for Wentworth, tying the match's score at one aside.
• Stevens set out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never looked back, later extending the lead to 10-4. Ahead 16-8, a kill by Waga cut the deficit to 16-9 before an Etter kill later marked an 18-12 deficit. A kill by LaBouliere kept the Leopards alive at 24-17, but the Ducks held on for a 25-17 set win, taking a 2-1 lead.
• Kills by Foxwell and Dunz gave the Leopards a 2-1 edge in the fourth set before another by Dunz split a 4-4 tie, marking a 5-4 set. Two service aces by junior Ryan Roller (West Hartford, Conn.) marked a 9-9 tie before four straight points for the Ducks later gave them a 15-12 lead. Kills by LaBouliere and Etter helped tie the score at 15-all before Wentworth later took a 21-19 lead on a Foxwell kill. Stevens scored three straight to take a 22-21 lead before Dunz and LaBouliere notched kills in part of four straight for Wentworth, giving them a 25-22 set win to force a fifth set.
• The two teams traded scores for much of the fifth set, with Stevens separating with a 9-7 lead before two Etter kills tied things up a nine-all. Tied at 10-10, five straight points for the Leopards, including kills by LaBouliere and Foxwell, gave Wentworth a deciding 15-10 set win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today's meeting marked the sixth all-time between the two teams, with their previous taking place in last season's NCAA Tournament. The Leopards earned their first-ever win over the Ducks.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards host the Fenway Volleyball Classic January 28-29, taking on Endicott and New Paltz on day one
  
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