Men's Volleyball Prevails in Five-Set Affair at Endicott

BEVERLY, Mass. –The #10 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team won its fourth straight contest Tuesday evening, defeating Endicott College 3-2 in a road matchup.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (19-4, 9-1 GNAC)
• Endicott (12-5)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Jacob LaBouliere, 19
• Assists – Connor Adams, 42
• Digs – Phoenix Stebbins, 9
• Aces – Jacob Waga, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Kills by junior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) and sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) got the Leopards even 3-3 after they fell behind early. After falling behind by one, junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) and senior Connor Adams (Budd Lake, N.J.) picked up kills, while graduate student David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) added a block to put Wentworth ahead 7-6. Another kill by LaBouliere extended the lead to two, but the Gulls came back to win five of the next six points to take a 12-10 advantage. The Leopards won the next two points to tie the set, then McLane, Oshman, and LaBouliere all scored one kill each as the teams traded points to reach a 16-16 score. With the set tied at 18, Endicott won three of four thanks to a pair of kills by Rafa Robert (San Juan, P.R.). A kill and service ace from Oshman combined with a kill by Marsh pulled the Leopards within one point at 23-22, but kills by Robert and Mason Mallory (Playa del Rey, Calif.) shut the door as the Gulls won the opener 25-22.
• Wentworth jumped out to the lead in the second, taking an early 5-1 lead. McLane and junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) scored kills, and LaBouliere added one a few points later to make it a 6-2 lead for the Leopards. Another LaBouliere kill was answered by a pair of finishers from Spencer Capps (Lake Bluff, Ill.), and Robert added an ace shortly after to bring it to a two-point differential at 8-6. Two LaBouliere kills pushed the lead to four for Wentworth, but after a kill by Oshman made it 13-9, Endicott ran off four straight to tie the set. After the Leopards won the next two, Robert picked up back-to-back kills to tie the second set at 15. Two more Wentworth points were answered by three straight from the Gulls, who took their first lead of the set at 18-17. The Leopards responded with four unanswered points, capped off by two straight aces by sophomore Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.). Two kills by LaBouliere made it a 23-21 advantage for Wentworth, but with the Leopards holding a set point opportunity with a 24-22 lead, Endicott rolled off three straight points to take the lead. Wentworth won the next point to tie it, and a pair of errors by the Gulls gave the visitors the two-point advantage they needed to win the second set, taking it by a 27-25 score to tie the match 1-1.
• A kill by Oshman pushed the Leopards to a 3-1 advantage early in the third, but four straight Endicott points gave them the lead at 5-3. Another Oshman kill got Wentworth within one, then the Leopards won three straight, the last being a kill by LaBouliere to go ahead 9-7. A trio of consecutive kills by Robert put the Gulls back in the lead, but LaBouliere added one more kill to tie it at 10. Endicott went on to take a two-point lead, but a kill by McLane helped the Leopards eventually draw even with the score 15-15. A service ace by sophomore Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) put Wentworth in the lead once again, but Robert added two more kill to give Endicott the one-point cushion. The Leopards then took control of the set late, going on an 8-2 run to finish it off. LaBouliere and McLane scored one kill apiece, while Waga added another ace. The stretch gave Wentworth a 25-20 victory and 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
• Endicott started strong in what was a must-win fourth set for them, taking a 4-1 lead to start off. A kill and an ace by Stockton helped the Leopards draw even at four, and after the teams traded the next several points, a kill by Adams put Wentworth in the lead at 8-7. A pair of LaBouliere kills and an Endicott error put the Leopards up 12-10, but the Gulls responded with five straight points to go ahead midway through the set, thanks in part to two aces by Mallory. A kill by McLane ended the run, but two more kills by Robert helped Endicott to win three of the next four, as the home team built an 18-14 advantage. With the Gulls still leading by four, Wentworth came back with their own run. Back-to-back LaBouliere kills sparked a 5-1 run for the Leopards, who went on to tie the set at 20 and force an Endicott timeout. But the with score tied at 22, Robert added another two kills, followed by a Wentworth error as the Gulls took the fourth 25-22 to force a game-deciding fifth set.
• The Leopards started strong in the fifth, as Stockton, McLane, and Oshman all picked up kills in the early going to put the visitors in front 4-1. After two Endicott points brought it to a differential of one, Stockton again picked up one kill and one ace as part of four consecutive points for Wentworth, who went ahead 8-3. The Gulls came back with a pair of kills from Robert to pull within three, but Marsh and LaBouliere answered with kills to extend the lead back to four at 11-7. After the lead was cut to two, the Leopards closed the match out on a 4-1 run. LaBouliere, Stockton, and Oshman scored one kill each, and Adams put down an ace as Wentworth took the fifth set 15-10 and claimed a 3-2 victory in the match.

THE SERIES:

• Tuesday marked the 36^th time the two programs have met, with Endicott now holding a 24-12 lead in the series.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards are back at home Friday, March 25, as they host SUNY Potsdam for a 7:00 p.m. match.

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