#13 Men’s Volleyball Falls to #1 Springfield in Five-Set Thriller

BOSTON, Mass. – The #13 Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team fell to the #1 Springfield College Pride in a thrilling five-set match at Tansey Gym on Wednesday night. Alem Dubcak led the offense with 21 kills while Nicolai Bell and Benjamin Moughon added 11 and 10 finishes, respectively. Brayden Green dished out 53 assists and Mekhi Burns had 10 digs. Eli Turner recorded seven kills and two blocks while Conner Foxwell tallied nine finishes and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Springfield opened the scoring and the sides went back and forth for the next five points. The Pride took a 5-3 lead before kills from Bell and Popp evened the score again. Back-to-back finishes from Bell and Turner got the Leopards back to an 8-8 tie before a strong kill from Dubcak gave Wentworth its first lead of the night.
• The visitors battled back to retake the lead at 11-10 and the sides exchanged points before Carter Durivage and Sam Levinson put the Pride in front 16-14. Turner's kill and a block from Turner and Foxwell tied the game at 17-all. The teams continued to go back and forth late in the set with the Leopards taking a 19-18, forcing Springfield into a timeout.
• Out of the break, Wentworth defended well and kept several rallies alive. Moughon and an attack error by the Pride gave the Leopards a 22-19 and Springfield burned another timeout. The Pride battled back to make it a 24-23 game and Wentworth called a timeout. Turner's kill gave the Leopards the victory in the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
• The second set began with the teams exchanging the first 10 points with the game tied at 5-5. Springfield jumped in front by two before a solo block from Green made it 8-7. The visitors went on a run and pushed their advantage to 18-13, forcing a Wentworth timeout. Springfield held onto their lead and took the second set, 25-19, tying the match.
• Springfield jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set three and the Leopards used a timeout to reset. The Leopards battled back with an ace from Dubcak tying the game at 5-5. It was back and forth action at Tansey with Turner's ace tying things up before two attack errors gave Wentworth a 13-11 edge and Springfield called timeout.
• The Pride battled back to tie the game at 16-16 before an attack error and an ace from Juan Zuniga put the Leopards in front by two, forcing Springfield into a timeout. Zuniga had another ace to make it 19-16 and Turner's kill pushed the Leopards to the 20-point mark. Dubcak tallied two kills late in the frame and served an ace to secure the 25-20 win in set three, giving Wentworth a 2-1 lead.
• Foxwell and Dubcak combined to give the Leopards an early 3-1 lead. Springfield tie the game and the sides went back and forth once again with Foxwell' finish making it an 8-8 game. The intensity rose as the teams battled for every point. Dubcak and Foxwell came up with a big block to give Wentworth a 15-14 lead. Dubcak buried another strong finish to give the Leopards a two-point edge and Springfield called timeout.
• Springfield fought back and evened the score at 18-18 before taking the lead on a kill from Dylan Mulvaney. The Pride jumped in front 22-20 and Wentworth used a timeout. The visitors held on to take the fourth set 25-22 and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
• Dubcak tallied to open the frame, but the Pride answered the even the score at 3-3. Springfield jumped in front 8-6 as the team's switched sides. Wentworth clawed back to tie the game at 9-9 Carter Durivage put the visitors in front 11-9. Bell tallied two kills to make it a one-point game, but the Pride held on to win the set 15-11 and take the 3-2 victory.

THE SERIES

• Tonight was the 14^th all-time meeting between the teams.

NEXT UP

• Wentworth visits Endicott on Saturday to close the regular season.

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