#15 Men’s Volleyball Downs #14 Lasell to Win Fifth Straight GNAC Championship

NEWTON, Mass. – The #14 Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated the #14 Lasell Lasers in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game on Saturday afternoon. The Leopards came out on top in the five-set thriller to win their fifth consecutive and eighth overall conference title.

Benjamin Moughon was named the GNAC Tournament MVP after leading the Leopards to the title. Brayden Green and Conner Foxwell were named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team.

Moughon led the way with 14 kills on 33 swings while Nicolai Bell added 13 finishes. Foxwell's 11 kills and Cody Popp's 10 finishes rounded out the offense while Green dished out 51 assists. Green also tallied 15 digs to lead the team while Moughon recorded 11 digs. Foxwell had a team-high five blocks while Bell and Popp each had three blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Foxwell and Bell recorded early kills as the teams went back and forth, exchanging the first eight points of the set. Foxwell gave the Leopards a 7-6 lead before Lasell went on 5-0 run to jump in front. Wentworth battled back to make it 12-10 but back-to-back kills from Jasper Schultz put the Lasers ahead 14-10.
• Popp tallied three kills over the next four rallies to keep the Leopards within two, but Lasell answered with a 5-2 run to push their lead to 20-15. After several errors and a kill from Moughon made it 20-18, the hosts took the first set 25-18 behind three straight finishes from Schultz.
• Wentworth took the early lead in set two with Bell's finish making it 5-3. Lasell responded with a 6-2 run to take a 9-7 lead. The teams battled and exchanged points with Moughon tying the game 15-15 with a strong finish.
• The Leopards and Lasell went back and forth again late in the frame with a service error giving Lasell a 21-20 lead. Kills from Bell and Dubcak and an ace from Popp put Wentworth ahead 23-21 before Moughon gave the Leopards set point. Bell finished things off with a kill to give the Leopards the 25-22 win, tying the match 1-1.
•  Schultz put the Lasers in front 6-1 early set three, a lead the hosts would stretch to 15-8. Dubcak, Bell, and Foxwell tallied kills to bring the Leopards within five, but the Lasers maintained their advantage late in the frame. Popp and Moughon tallied finishes late to make it 23-19, but Lasell took the third set 25-20 behind back-to-back kills from Schultz to take a 2-1 lead.
• Lasell led early in set four with Schultz making 9-6 as Wentworth called a timeout. Foxwell tallied a pair of kills, but Schultz and Paten Buckwalter combined to keep the Lasers in front 12-7.  
• After the Lasers pushed the lead to 15-10, Wentworth battled back to make it a 15-13 game behind back-to-back kills from Dubcak, forcing Lasell into a timeout. Back-to-back errors by the hosts tied the game at 15-15 and Lasell used another timeout.
• The teams went back and forth again, exchanging points with the game tied 19-19 late in set four. Foxwell and Moughon combined to put the Leopards in front by two, looking to force a fifth set. Bell and Dubcak wrapped up the fourth set 25-21 to tie the match and send the GNAC title game into a decisive fifth set.
• Dubcak opened the frame with a kill to put Wentworth in front before Biggs and Moughon combined to make it 4-2, forcing Lasell into a timeout. Another kill from Moughon and an error by Schultz made it 6-2 before the Lasers used another timeout.
• Biggs and Moughon tallied back-to-back kills to push the lead to 8-2 as the team's switched sides. Juan Zuniga's ace made it 12-5 as the Leopards inched closer to the title. Dubcak's kill and another error gave Wentworth match point before Lasell made it 14-7. A service error clinched the set 15-7 and gave the Leoaprds their fifth straight GNAC title.

THE SERIES

• Today was the 60^th all-time meeting between the teams.

NEXT UP

• Wentworth gets the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and will find out their first round opponent in the coming days.

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