BOSTON, Mass. – A season ago the Wentworth men's volleyball team enjoyed its finest season in program history. The Leopards won a program-record 30 matches (30-5), won its third Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship, and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament for the second time in program history.
Tuesday night (Jan. 17), the 2023 campaign begins at Emmanuel and the is plenty of optimism ahead of the season opener.
"Our guys are really excited to get the season started," said 12th-year head coach Evin Giglio. "The beginning of the schedule is loaded with talented teams and nationally ranked programs. We graduated some impact players, but we have a great core returning, combined with some exciting freshman."
Returning 15 letterwinners from last season's squad, the Leopards have been picked to repeat as GNAC Champions, picking up six of a possible nine first-place votes and accumulating 77 points in the GNAC Preseason Poll. Junior Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), the GNAC's Offensive Player of the Year and an AVCA First Team All-American in 2022, leads the returning corps for the Black & Gold, along with two other all-league performers a season ago; senior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.), a Second Team All-GNAC selection and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, and Third Team All-GNAC selection Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.).
On the national stage, the Leopards have been recognized in two preseason polls. In the AVCA Division III Men's Top 15, Wentworth picked up its highest-ever national ranking, checking in at No. 3 with 272 points. The No. 3 ranking eclipses the previous high mark of No. 4, set at the conclusion of the 2017 season and matched on February 8, 2022. Frog Jump Volleyball also recognized the Leopards, ranking them No. 3 in their preseason poll. In addition, LaBouliere was named a Frog Jump Volleyball Preseason All-American.
Wentworth faces five nationally ranked opponents this season in No. 4 Stevens, No. 7 New Paltz, No. 8 Juniata, No. 9 St. John Fisher, and No. 14 Lasell. The Leopards face St. John Fisher and Juniata on back-to-back days as part of the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invitational the weekend of Jan. 20-21. Three of Wentworth's opponents – St. Joseph's (Long Island, Endicott, and MIT – all received votes in the AVCA poll). The Leopards will face Lasell twice in the regular season as part of the GNAC schedule. The two teams split in the regular season with the Leopards prevailing in the rubber match; the GNAC title match.
"This might be the deepest roster we've ever had," added Giglio. "We're going to have to play at an extremely high level all season to reach our goals."
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