Saints fall to #7 Wentworth and Benedictine in Men's Volleyball Action

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel, 0 – #7 Wentworth, 3 (25-10, 25-17, 25-21)
Emmanuel, 0 - Benedictine (IL), 3 (25-14, 26-24, 25-16)

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (3-4, 2-1 GNAC)
#7 Wentworth Inst. of Technology Leopards (7-0, 2-0 GNAC)
Benedictine Univ. Eagles (1-2, 0-0 NACC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Tansey Gymnasium

Date: Saturday, February, 2022

THE LEAD – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team dropped two matches on Saturday, falling to No. 7 Wentworth Institute of Technology in GNAC action in straight sets 3-0, (25-10, 25-17, 25-21) before getting swept by Benedictine (IL) in non-league action, 3-0, (25-14, 26-24, 25-16).

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Wentworth)

• A pair of kills from junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) and sophomore Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) helped the Leopards secure the first four points of the match. After a point from Emmanuel, sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) racked up four straight kills to give Wentworth an 8-1 lead in the early going.  Kills by graduate student David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) and LaBouliere, as well as two aces from senior setter Connor Adams (Budd Lake, N.J.) were part of seven more points for the Leopards, who took a commanding 15-3 lead. One kill and one service ace for sophomore Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.), as well as two more kills from LaBouliere, who led the team with 13 on the match, helped close out the first set with a 25-10 victory.

• Wentworth got kills from four different players in the opening portion of the second set, as LaBouliere, Marsh, Jack, and Stockton all collected finishers to get the Leopards out to an 8-2 lead. A kill by Waga and two aces from LaBouliere pushed the advantage to 11-3. The Saints won three of four to cut their deficit to six points, but a kill by junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) and an ace by junior Tristan McDonough (Shelton, Conn.) extended the lead back to eight points at 20-12. The Leopards were able to maintain their eight-point advantage through the end of the set, as kills from LaBouliere and McDonough finished off the second set with a 25-17 Wentworth victory.

• Emmanuel took a 4-2 lead to open the third, getting kills from three different players along the way. The Leopards responded with a 9-2 run to take command and open up a 13-6 lead. McDonough picked up two kills and two aces during the stretch, while Jack, McLane, and freshman Dave Arellanes (North Aurora, Ill.) added one kill apiece. Arellanes and Jack later added one more kill each, and an ace from sophomore Anthony Krzykowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) extended the lead to 16-8. The Saints came back with four straight points to pull within four, but two more kills by Arellanes and one from McDonough helped break the Emmanuel run and put Wentworth ahead by six. The visitors came back and won four of the following five points, closing the gap to three at 22-19. But an attack error from the Saints, along with kills from McLane and freshman Dylan Burritt (Newbury Park, Calif.) closed out the match as the Leopards won the third set by a 25-21 score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• LaBouliere led all Wentworth players with 13 kills, while Adams and Krzykowski tied for the team lead with 20 assists each. Freshman Jonah Kaye (Carlsbad, Calif.) had a team-best four digs during the match.

• Louis Da Silva (New Bedford, Mass.) and Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) each tallied five kills for Emmanuel while junior setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) dished out 17 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Benedictine)

• The Eagles led throughout their entire 25-14 first set win, taking firm control of the momentum late in the stanza with five straight points to make it 22-8 after a kill by Nathan Klimisch. EC made up some ground late but it was far too late as Benedictine cruised to the 11-point win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

• The Saints battled in the second set, trailing by as many as 10 (22-12) before mounting a comeback with a 12-2 run to even the score at 24-24 following a hitting error by the Eagles. The Saints were unable to capitalize, ending the set with back-to-back errors to give Benedictine the 26-24 win and 2-0 lead.
• After trading points to start the third set, Benedictine went into cruise control to put the Saints away by a 25-16 score for the non-conference sweep.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Klimisch and Chase Olsen powered the Eagles with 13 kills a piece

• First year outide hitter Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) led Emmanuel with nine kills while senior Tyler Behsman (Derry, N.H.) recorded 10 digs.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel will stay local on Thursday, February 10 heading downtown to play Emerson College in GNAC action at 7:00 PM.
• Wentworth plays Rivier the same night in a feature GNAC tilt scheduled for 7:00 PM in Nashua, N.H.
• Benedictine has the quickest turnover, heading across the river to play MIT tomorrow, February 6 at 12:00 PM before heading back to Illinois.