Men's Volleyball Defeats St. John Fisher to Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

NEWARK, N.J. –The #7 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated St. John Fisher College in straight sets to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Leopards won 30-28, 25-22, 25-23 in the opening round.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (29-4, 16-1 GNAC)
• St. John Fisher (24-8)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Jacob LaBouliere, 16
• Assists – Connor Adams, 30
• Digs – Phoenix Stebbins, 14
• Aces – Jacob LaBouliere, 5

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The teams traded points in the early going, as the Leopards matched the Cardinals point for point. Four Wentworth players got kills to open the match, as sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.), junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio), and junior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had one apiece as the teams played to a 4-4 tie. A double block by LaBouliere and graduate student David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) gave the Leopards the lead, and they extended it to a 7-5 advantage following LaBouliere's second kill. After winning three of four to take a 10-7 lead, the Cardinals went right back in front, scoring five straight to go up by two. Paul Hackford (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Jake Baker (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) picked up kills for St. John Fisher during the run, which was answered by three straight from Wentworth. Stockton, Oshman, and McLane had three kills for the Leopards, who took a one-point lead at 13-12. Baker and Evan Ingerick (Penfield, N.Y.) came back with two kills for Fisher, but a pair of errors by the Cardinals, in addition to a kill from LaBouliere, put Wentworth ahead 16-14. A kill by Josh Bigford (Cicero, N.Y.) and ace from Gavin Miller (Vernon, N.Y.) were part of four straight for the Cardinals, who took an 18-16 lead as the Leopards called timeout. A Marsh kill and a service ace by sophomore Anthony Krzykowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) tied the set at 18, but two more points for Fisher, capped off by a Bigford kill, put the Cardinals ahead once again. Wentworth then won the next four to take a two-point lead, as Stockton came through with a kill and Adams picked up an ace. The teams then traded points, and after a kill by Baker, Fisher lead by a point. The Leopards were one point away from dropping the set three times, but each time were able to even the score. A pair of kills by LaBouliere and an error by Fisher put the first set away, as Wentworth held off the Cardinals for a 30-28 victory in the opener.
• The Leopards jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second, but the Cardinals came back to tie it after a kill by Hackford. An error by Fisher and a Stockton ace gave Wentworth the lead, But two more Hackford kills helped Fisher jump ahead by one at 6-5. Kills by LaBouliere and McLane, as well as an ace from Oshman, put Wentworth up 8-7, but the teams continued their back-and-forth battle as the Cardinals took three of four to again take the lead. After the teams split the next two points, the Leopards went on a dominant stretch. Wentworth won seven in a row to take a 17-11 lead, as Oshman picked up a kill and LaBouliere had a pair of aces. Two more kills by Oshman made it a 19-13 score, but the Cardinals then went on a run of cut into the lead. Fisher won four straight to make it a two-point set, with Baker scoring a kill to finish the stretch. A kill by McLane helped Wentworth push the advantage back to four, but two more kills by Baker reduced the Fisher deficit to two points. With the score at 23-20 after a Cardinal error, Oshman and LaBouliere came through with two kills to close out the second, as the Leopards claimed a 25-22 victory to go up by two sets.
• Kills by LaBouliere and Stockton gave the Leopards a 2-0 lead in the third, but Fisher came back with four straight to go ahead. Two Cardinal errors tied it at four, and Stockton came up with an ace to give Wentworth a 6-5 lead a few points later. Baker and Bigford then connected on two kills for Fisher, as they won three of four to go ahead 8-7. A kill by Adams helped Wentworth take a one-point lead, but a kill from Hackford started a run of three straight for the Cardinals. A kill and ace from LaBouliere, in addition to another kill from Adams, drew the set even at 13-13. Bigford put Fisher ahead with a kill, but two straight errors put the Leopards up by one. The Cardinals responded though, winning four of five to take an 18-16 lead. Baker, Ingerick, and Bigford all had kills for Fisher during the stretch, but the Leopards came back with a LaBouliere finisher and ace by Krzykowski to tie the set. With Fisher leading 20-19, LaBouliere scored back-to-back kills to give Wentworth the lead, but Baker tied it with a kill of his own one point later. One more kill and two aces by LaBouliere gave the Leopards a match point opportunity, and after two errors, Oshman finished things off with a kill to send the Leopards to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as they won the third 25-23.
• Speaking on the victory, head coach Evin Giglio said "We expected it to be really difficult, and a grind. They (St. John Fisher) were playing their best volleyball down the stretch. So to get out of there in three was huge."
• Adams spoke on the performance of the team afterwards, saying "I think we're just a bunch of gamers. When it's game time, we make plays, down the stretch we've got that real clutch gene in ourselves. We show up for the big moments, we love the big moments, and we've got some great hitters.
• The Leopards had a strong game defensively, as they had 10 blocks throughout the match. Stockton, who had five block assists on the night, spoke about the performance on the defensive side for Wentworth. "I know they have big guys that are gonna be coming down swinging, so just following the ball and getting myself in a good position. Even if they go around me, we've got four guys in the back that can pick that ball up so our defense is always good."
• Wentworth won its 29^th game of the season Friday, setting a new program record
• Wentworth won its 14^th consecutive match Saturday and have won 31 consecutive sets.
• The Leopards advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

THE SERIES:

• This was the 3^rd time the two programs have met, and the first time in postseason play. The Leopards now hold a 2-1 lead in the series.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards now take on host Rutgers-Newark University Saturday, April 16. Match time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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