#12 Men’s Volleyball Splits Tri-Match Against Wheaton & #2 Stevens

BOSTON, Mass. – The #12 Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team split Saturday's tri-match with a sweep of the Wheaton Lyons before falling to the #2 Stevens Ducks in straight sets.

MATCH ONE: #12 WENTWORTH 3, Wheaton 0

Cody Popp led the way with 10 kills on 13 swings while Luke McQuaid added nine kills on 16 attempts. Saurab Anjanapa tallied six kills while Gabe Tucker and Dylan Johnson combined for 11 blocks. Cody Harrison dished out 14 assists and Aaron McRae added 12 helpers and two digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wheaton jumped out to a 4-2 lead before Popp's kill evened the score. The visitors took a 10-8 lead after a bad set, but the Leopards answered with a 5-0 run capped off by a kill from Tucker, forcing Wheaton into a timeout. Kills from Popp and Anjanapa paired with errors by the Lyons pushed Wentworth's lead to 19-15 late in the frame. The Leopards scored six of the next points with Matthew Zegowitz tallying the finish to secure the 25-18 victory in set one.
• In the second set, Wentworth took an early 6-3 lead after several errors by the Lyons. Bennett Chiappetta's kill and an error by Anajanapa cut the lead to 9-8 before the visitors evened the score at 10-10 after a bad set. Three straight attack errors by Wheaton gave the Leopards a cushion and Dylan Johnson's strong finish pushed the advantage to 21-15. The Lyons battled late but kills from Popp and McQuaid secured the second set, 25-19, and gave Wentworth a 2-0 lead.
• The teams exchanged points in the third set with an error from Ryan Rathbun bringing the Leopards level at 8-8. Popp tallied another kill but errors from both sides kept the score tied at 14-all. Anjanapa and McQuaid added to their tallies while more attacking errors from the Lyons gave Wentworth a 20-17 lead. Wheaton battled back with Sam Smith's ace making it 24-22, but Anjanapa finished things off with a kill to claim a 25-22 win in set three and secure the sweep.

THE SERIES

• Today was the first all-time meeting between the teams.

MATCH TWO: #12 Wentworth 0, #2 Stevens 3

Alem Dubcak had a team-high 11 kills and Eli Turner added nine finishes. Brayden Green tallied 29 assists while Cody Popp added six kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Ducks opened the game with a 4-1 lead behind kills from Ryan Schmid and Tyler Hoke. The Leopards bounced back with back-to-back kills from William Biggs before Schmid added another finish. Nicolai Bell tied the game at 6-6 before the sides exchanged the next six points. After taking a 9-8 lead, Stevens went on a 9-1 run to take a commanding lead late in the frame. Wentworth scored six of the next eight points to make it 20-15, but the Ducks won the opening set 25-15.
• Stevens came out flying in the second set, taking a 9-1 lead with Julius Stiemer recording six kills for the Ducks. Turner's finish broke the run and Benjamin Moughon and Dubcak added points to make it 12-5. The Ducks extended the lead to 18-9 before three straight points courtesy of Turner, Popp, and Bell brought the Leopards within six. Wentworth battled late but the lead was too much to overcome as Hoke's kill gave Stevens the 25-18 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
• Kills from Stiemer and Hoke paired with errors by the Leopards put the Ducks in front 5-2 to open the third set. Conner Foxwell and Popp tallied kills to even the score before the visitors went back in front 10-7. A pair of kills from Dubcak and an ace from Green tied the game once again as the teams started to go back and forth. Stevens built a 17-14 lead as Wentworth called a timeout. Out of the break, the Leopards scored four straight points to take an 18-17 lead, forcing Stevens into a timeout. The Ducks and Leopards went back and forth in an exciting third set with Turner's kill giving Wentworth a 23-22 lead. Stevens scored the next three points to take the third set 25-23 and win the match 3-0.

THE SERIES

• Today was the 8^th all-time meeting between the teams.

NEXT UP

• The Leopards visit Lasell on Wednesday.  

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