Men's Volleyball Earns Straight Set Victory Over Potsdam

BOSTON, Mass. –The #10 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team took a 3-0 victory Friday evening, defeating SUNY Potsdam in straight sets at home. The victory marks the eighth time in program history that the team has won 20 games in a season.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (20-4, 9-1 GNAC)
• SUNY Potsdam (12-14)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Jacob Waga, 8
• Assists – Connor Adams, 14
• Digs – Phoenix Stebbins, 11
• Aces – Colin Stockton, 2; Tyler Jack, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Leopards won the first five points of the match, as sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) scored a kill and a block, while junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) added a block as well. After two points for the Bears, Wentworth won seven straight points to take a 12-2 lead. Junior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) picked up two kills during the rally, LaBouliere added a service ace. An ace by Stockton combined with kills from graduate student David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) helped the Leopards maintain their 10-point lead at 16-6, and after a kill by LaBouliere and ace from sophomore Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) put Wentworth ahead by 14, kills by Oshman and LaBouliere finished off the opening set as the Leopards won 25-13 to take a 1-0 lead.
• After falling behind early, Wentworth got on a roll, and a trio of kills by McLane, and one each from Marsh and Stockton, pushed the Leopards ahead by nine points at 12-3. A kill by senior Drew Potter (Towson, Md.) and an ace by sophomore Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) put the Leopards ahead by 11, and after another kill by Potter, Wentworth held a 17-6 advantage and was in control. After several errors by SUNY Potsdam had the score at 22-8 in favor of the home team, an ace from Potter and kill by Waga closed out the set at 25-13 once again, putting the Leopards ahead by two sets.
• Kills by Stockton, Oshman, and Potter gave Wentworth a slim 4-3 lead in the early stages of the third, but the Bears came back with three straight to go ahead shortly after. Two kills by Waga and an ace by Marsh helped the Leopards get even at 9-9, and one more kill by Waga gave put Wentworth back in front. With the score deadlocked at 12, Stockton came through with a kill followed by another ace from Jack. The points were part of a 6-1 Wentworth run, which was capped off by another kill from Marsh, as the Leopards took a 17-13 advantage. Two more kills from Waga gave Wentworth the lead at 21-15, but Potsdam came back strong towards the end of the set. The Bears won seven of the next eight points, getting kills from four different players throughout the stretch to tie the set at 22-22. Following a service error from Potsdam, Waga came back with one last kill followed by another Potsdam error to end the match, as the Leopards held on for a 25-22 victory in the third.

THE SERIES:

• This was the first time that the programs have met, Wentworth now leads the series 1-0.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards host a tri-match Saturday, March 26, first facing Emerson College at 11:00 a.m., then taking on Colby-Sawyer College at 3:00 p.m.

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