FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Wentworth Athletics Communications
BOSTON, Mass. – On the heels of winning its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team has earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Championships. The Leopards, who are the number eight seed nationally, have been selected to host a first-round match on Saturday, April 16, and will square off against Hunter College at 6:30 p.m.
The Leopards, who were seeded first in the GNAC Tournament, needed to rally from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Emmanuel on Thursday, 3-2, and found themselves down 2-1 to Rivier on Saturday night only to come back in dramatic fashion and claim the title with a 3-2 win in front of a raucous crowd at Tansey Gymnasium.
Tournament most outstanding player Jake Reed(Arvada, Colo.) had 17 kills in the championship match, which included the match-clinching kill. Reed also added two aces, nine digs, and four blocks. Classmate Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) and sophomore Kevin McPeek (Bethlehem, Pa.) were both also named to the all-tournament team. IN the title match, Potts had 18 kills and hit .667 while also recording nine blocks, and McPeek had a career-high 62 assists.
Wentworth (22-8) enters the match riding an eight-match win streak with the Black & Gold's last loss coming at Emmanuel on March 17. Reed is averaging 2.90 kills, 0.45 aces, and 1.36 digs per set. Sophomore Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) is averaging 2.83 kills, 1.24 digs, and 0.63 blocks per set, sophomore Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) is averaging 2.51 kills per set and the school's all-time service ace leader has a single-season record 74 aces this season, while Potts, whose .525 attack percentage is second in all of Division III, is averaging 2.39 kills and 0.97 blocks per set.
Hunter (24-9) punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 3-2 win over top-seeded and seven-time defending champion Baruch in the CUNYAC Finals on Saturday night. Steven Tarquinio had 12 kills and five digs in the win and earned tournament MVP honors while Joseph Muir and Ben Crusinberry were also named to the all-tournament team. Muir had 15 digs and Crusinberry had 11 kills, 10 digs, and a pair of blocks.
Cruisnberry is averaging 2.85 kills, 0.42 aces, and 1.20 digs per set while Blake Hogan is averaging 2.42 kills and 1.40 digs per set. Tarquinio is hitting .366 and averaging 2.15 kills and 0.89 blocks per set.
This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs with Wentworth holding a 3-2 advantage. The two teams last met on February 14, 2015, with the Leopards taking a 3-0 win in Springfield, Mass.
Information regarding tickets will follow later in the week.