#13 Men’s Volleyball Falls Wittenberg in NCAA First Round

HUNTINGDON, Penn. – The #13 Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team fell to the Wittenberg Tigers in four sets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. Alem Dubcak had a team-high 12 kills to go with six digs and three blocks. Nicolai Bell and Conner Foxwell each tallied six kills and combined for three blocks. Brayden Green dished out 29 assists and had 10 digs while Benajmin Moughon had five kills and nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers took the lead to open the set and the sides exchanged the first 12 points of the game. Biggs' kill gave Wentworth its first lead of the frame, 7-6. Kills from Bell and Green pushed the lead to 11-8 before 7-2 run from the Leopards, capped off by a kill from Dubcak, made it 19-12.
• Wittenberg battled back with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to 20-17. Moughon's ace gave the Leopards a five-point lead late in the frame before the Tigers fought back to make it 23-21. Dubcak's finish and an attack error secured the first set for the Leopards, 25-21, and gave them a 1-0 lead in the match.
• Wentworth used a timeout early in the second set after Wittenberg opened the frame with a 6-1 run. The Tigers stretched the lead 11-4 before Cody Popp's kill ended the run. Bell and Biggs tallied back-to-back kills, but the Tigers answered to stay in front 15-10.
• Michael Yurk and Harrison Mitchell gave Wittenberg an 18-12 edge before a kill from Foxwell. Zach Newton's finish and errors by the Leopards gave the Tigers a 21-15 lead. Three errors got Wentworth within four points, but a service error secured the second set, 25-20, for Wittenberg and tied the match.
• Wittenberg took a 7-3 lead to open set three. Back-to-back kills from Dubcak made it a 9-7 game before an attack error put the Tigers back in front by three. Foxwell and Dubcak combined for back-to-back finishes to make it a one-point game again, but the Tigers answered to stay in front by two.
• The Tigers pushed the lead to 14-10 and Wentworth called a timeout. Out of the break, Wittenberg went on a 6-3 run to hit the 20-point mark. Temmy Argynbay tallied a kill, and two attack errors made it 21-17 before Wittenberg called timeout. The Tigers scored four straight points to take the third set 25-17 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Wentworth went up 4-1 in the fourth set, but the Tigers rallied to take a 6-5 lead. Bell and Moughon recorded kills to keep the Leopards within one, but Wittenberg stretched its lead to 12-9. Errors by the Tigers gave Wentworth life, making it a 15-13 game as Wittenberg called timeout.
• Out of the break, Wittenberg went on a 6-2 run to take a 21-16 late in the frame. An attack error and an ace from Gabe Tucker made it a three-point game and Wittenberg called timeout. Green and Dubcak tallied kills late to make it 23-20 but the Tigers held on to win the set 25-21 and win the match 3-1 to advance to the next round.

THE SERIES

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

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