BOSTON, Mass. – Southern Vermont College was downed 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference men's volleyball action at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Mountaineers lost the straight-set decision with game scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-17 to drop to 3-4 on the season. The win keeps the Leopards perfect this year with a 7-0 mark, the best start in program history.
Southern Vermont was led by junior Scott Fitzgerald (Fort Edward, N.Y.) who recorded seven kills on the afternoon while senior Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.) had four. Juniors Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) and Keven Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) had three kills apiece in the loss; Dighton also recorded three blocks. Junior libero Florentino Escovedo (Fresno, Calif.) had 14 digs and a block while senior setter Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.) notched 16 assists.
WIT freshmen Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and Sam Pisker (Mullica Hill, N.J.) combined for 21 kills and junior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) had seven kills and hit .700 on the afternoon.
The opening set began with the two teams trading points before a Donahue block gave the Leopards a 7-6 lead. The stalemate would continue throughout the early stages of the set with ties at seven, eight and nine. Leopard freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) would serve an ace, which was followed by a Pisker kill, to take a 12-10 lead. Donahue's second block of the frame gave the Leopards a 17-12 lead in the middle of a 5-0 run which forced a Southern Vermont timeout. The run would continue after the stoppage as Wentworth rattled off another four points capped by a Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) kill to give the Black & Gold a 21-12 lead. Freshman Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) finished the set with a block as Wentworth took the opening frame 25-15.
Wentworth would jump out to an early 4-2 lead in the second set behind solid passing and defense. Pisker's serving and two Burdett kills would then help the Leopards extend their lead to 9-4. Donahue and Pisker would then hit back-to-back kills to give Wentworth an eight-point lead at 14-6. Dighton would block a Wentworth attempt to get the Mountaineers back within five at 15-10, however, Reed responded with a kill to get the Leopards back on the board at 16-10. Wentworth would finish the game outscoring the visitors 9-5 to take the second set 25-15.
In the third frame, the Leopards would once again jump out to a lead, taking an early 5-1 advantage. After two Mountaineer unforced errors, Pisker's kill gave Wentworth a three-point lead at 6-3. Dighton's ace got the Mountaineers within one at 6-5, but another Pisker kill gave Wentworth a 7-5 lead. WIT would eventually go on a 7-2 run highlighted by a Reed kill to give the hosts a 14-7 lead and forced a Mountaineer timeout. Southern Vermont came back to score two-straight points and pull within five at 14-9, but the hosts scored four of the next five points and took an 18-10 lead. A Fitzgerald kill would get Southern Vermont back within six at 21-15, but Donahue's presence in the middle was too much, and his kill gave Wentworth a 22-15 lead. Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) ended the match with a kill to give the Leopards the 25-17 set victory.
Pisker had 11 kills and hit .562 for the match while Reed had 10 kills, and senior Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) added six. In addition to his seven kills, Donahue had four blocks and three aces. Senior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) had 10 digs while freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had 36 assists, two aces, and eight digs.
The Mountaineers turn to their home opener Thursday when they host The Sage Colleges for a 7 p.m. match. Wentworth turns to a Wednesday Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Rivier College slated for 7 p.m.