Lasell Men’s Volleyball drops match at Wentworth

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) had 11 kills on 11 swings for a 1.000 attack percentage and senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) added 10 kills on 16 swings without an error (.625) as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team picked up a 3-0 win over Lasell College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match at Tansey Gymnasium.

With the win, the 14th-ranked Leopards improve to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in league play while the Lasers fall to 1-11 (0-1). 

Freshman Conor Leary-Watson (Bethany, Conn.) and junior Nathan Gallo (North Providence, R.I.) each had seven kills for Lasell and sophomore Scott Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) added six winners. Junior Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.).had 26 set assists.

Wentworth jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set, thanks in part to kills from Oshman and sophomore Ryan Engel (Floral Park, N.Y.) before the two of them teamed up for a block. Lasell scored five of the next seven points and came within a pair on a block from freshman Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.) and Henriquez. 

The Leopards used a 5-2 spurt to take a 14-9 lead after a sophomore Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) kill, however, the Lasers came back and pulled within one on two occasions. Wentworth scored three of the next four points to take a 20-17 lead on a sophomore Xhuljo Zyba (Holbrook, Mass.) kill but three straight Lasell points evened the set at 20-all. Wentworth took a 21-20 lead before a Leary-Watson kill evened the set at 21-all. A pair of kills from Ritter and a block from Ritter and Oshman made it 24-21 and Ritter ended the set with a kill.

The second set saw Wentworth take a 4-0 lead as freshman Sean Spencer (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and Ritter each recorded kills. The Black & Gold bumped their lead to 9-4 after an Oshman kill and didn't allow Lasell to come within fewer than three points, which the Lasers did at 16-13. A kill from Leary-Watson and a Leopard attack error made it 19-15, however, Wentworth scored six of the set's final eight points and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-17 win.

In the third set, Leary-Watson recorded a kill to give Lasell a 5-4 lead, but Wentworth used an 8-1 run and took a 13-5 lead after a Zyba kill. The Lasers pulled to within seven at 17-10, but would come no closer as the hosts closed out the match on an 8-2 run, using Oshman's 11th kill of the night to complete the sweep.

Wentworth is back in action Thursday night at Emerson, while Lasell returns to the court next Tuesday, February 27, with a GNAC match at Regis College. 

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