Men’s Volleyball Turns Away No. 14 Nationally Ranked Wentworth, 3-1

INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH GEORGE CHAPELL

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team claimed its second win over a nationally ranked opponent this season on Wednesday night, as the Gulls turned away No. 14 Wentworth, 3-1, by scores of 26-28, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-20 inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) led Endicott offensively with a team-high 15 kills in addition to his seven digs, three service aces, and three block assists. Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) chipped in with 14 kills (.379 hitting percentage) and two service aces, while Alex Wasik (Milford, Mass.) aided the attack with seven kills and three block assists.

Cameron Little (San Diego, Calif.) ran the Gulls' offense by compiling 38 assists alongside his eight digs, and two block assists. Freshman libero Ryan Healy (Fair Lawn, N.J.) also shined defensively with a match-high and career-high 15 digs.

Wentworth featured four student-athletes with double-digit kill totals including Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.), Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.), Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.), and Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.). Reed paced the foursome with a season-high 19 putaways, while Roat registered the only double-double of the match with 13 kills and 10 digs.

After Wentworth took the first set 28-26, the Gulls made a few adjustments to their lineup that paid dividends as Endicott held the Leopards under a .250 hitting percentage for the remainder of the match.

The Gulls went on to break the 1-1 tie in the match by using a balanced offense in set three which featured kills from five different student-athletes, and a set-high eight attacking errors by Wentworth. In set four, the Gulls never trailed after erasing a 3-3 tie thanks to a pair of runs (7-2, 9-5) that gave Endicott an eventual 19-10 cushion before the set ended with a 25-20 score.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is now 2-2 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
• The Gulls are 22-6 in the all-time series versus Wentworth.
• Chandler Tayek's (Rolling Hill Estates, Calif.) defensive play helped sway momentum after Endicott dropped the first set as the senior outside tallied six digs over the last three sets.

FOR THE FOES

• Reed also compiled eight digs in the loss.
• Potts had 10 kills, while Mullen sent home 13 swings.
• Kevin McPeek (Bethlehem, Pa.) notched a match-high and career-high 56 assists.
• Mike Rogachefsky (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Leopards defensively with 13 digs.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-4) will play in the Live Free or Die Invitational this weekend against Lasell (2/6, 6:30 PM), Daniel Webster (2/7, 11 AM), and Rivier (2/7, 1:30 PM). Wentworth (5-4) takes on Regis (11 AM) and New Jersey City (3 PM) this coming Saturday. 

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