Men's Volleyball Selected to Play in ECAC Tournament

BOSTON, Mass. – For the second consecutive season and third time in the last four years, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team has earned a berth in the ECAC Men's Volleyball Tournament.

The second-seeded Leopards (25-8) will take on third-seeded Penn State Behrend (15-9) in a semifinal match on Saturday, April 19, at Stevenson University beginning at 1:00 p.m. The top-seeded Mustangs (21-8) will face fourth-seeded Hunter (17-14) in the opening match of the day at 11:00 a.m. with the two semifinal winners scheduled to meet in the championship match beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Enjoying its finest season in program history, the Leopards enter the tournament after dropping a 3-1 decision to Emmanuel in the semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament. That match snapped a season high 10-match winning streak for the Black & Gold, who had beaten the Saints for the first time in 14 meetings and fifth-ranked Rivier for the first time in 24 meetings during the stretch.

Five members of the Leopards were named All-GNAC, while third-year head coach Evin Giglio earned conference coach of the year honors. Freshman setter Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) was named First Team All-GNAC, senior outside hitter Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) and junior middle blocker Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) earned Second Team All-GNAC honors, while a pair of freshmen – outside hitter Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and Sam Pisker (Mullica Hill, N.J.) earned a spot on the third team all-conference team.

In addition to setting the program's single season record for wins, Wentworth has set single season program records for kills (1,348), service aces (212), assists (1,217), and both matches (33) and sets (114) played.

The Leopards and the Lions will square off for the first time in program history. Should Wentworth advance, the Leopards are 1-5 all-time against Stevenson and 2-2 all-time against Hunter.

In ECAC Tournament play, Wentworth is 1-2 in its previous two appearances. In 2011 the Leopards were defeated, 3-0, by Endicott in the semifinals while last season the Black & Gold defeated Elmira, 3-0, in the semifinals before falling to The Sage Colleges, 3-1, in the championship match.