WESTON, Mass. – On the final day of the regular season, Regis College hosted two of the top teams in the league in a tri-match Saturday, losing to Wentworth (3-0) and Rivier (3-0) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's volleyball action at Higgins Court.
WENTWORTH 3, REGIS 0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-20)
Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.), Dimitri Stewart (Paterson, N.J.), and Kostea Andreenko (Marstons Mills, Mass.) each finished with five kills, with Andreenko also notching three solo blocks during the match. Brendan Lam (Rockville, Md.) dished out 16 assists and tied with Perez and Matt Ferrara (Sandown, N.H.) for the team lead with five defensive digs each.
In the opening set, Wentworth established a four-point advantage at 11-7 thanks to a 5-1 scoring run. The Leopards pulled away from the Pride with a 12-1 scoring run, led by Colin Stockton with four kills, a service ace, and a block assist, and then Wentworth would clinch the first set on a Regis service error.
Led by four kills and a block assist by Hunter Oshman, Wentworth raced out to a 13-1 lead to start the second set, but the Pride battled back, putting together an 11-4 scoring stretch, capped by a service ace from Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.) and a solo block by Andreenko, to close to within five at 20-15. The Leopards would eventually score four of the final five points of the set, including a kill and a service ace from Dave Arellanes.
In the third set, a service ace and a kill by Andreenko gave the Pride a 7-5 lead before Wentworth responded with a 6-1 scoring run, led by three kills from Jacob LaBouliere. After two kills by Stewart allowed Regis to retake the lead at 13-12, the Leopards scored five straight points to pull ahead, 17-13. The teams would basically trade points the rest of the way, with Wentworth closing out the set and the match on a kill by Tyler Jack.
LaBouliere led the Leopards with 10 kills, four service aces, and five digs, while Stockton finished with nine kills and four total blocks. Connor Adams accumulated 29 assists as Wentworth, ranked 10th in this week's NVA/AVCA Men's Division III Coaches Poll, hit .312 as a team in the match.
Before the match, Andreenko, Nate Asstafan (Woonsocket, R.I.), Ferrara, Lam, Shane Phillip (Brockton, Mass.), and Stewart were recognized in the Senior Day presentation.
RIVIER 3, REGIS 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16)
Perez led the Pride offensively with eight kills, while Andreenko earned five kills and two total blocks. Lam once again finished with 16 assists, and Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) paced the team with six defensive digs to go along with four assists.
The teams split the first 14 points of the match before Rivier opened a lead with five unanswered points, led by Pedro Campos with a solo block and a kill. The Pride closed to within two points at 18-16 on a solo block by Burch, but the Raiders pulled away thanks to a 7-1 scoring run to finish the set, including a kill and a block assist each for Sokunbuth Ly and Chris Lezon.
The Raiders jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second set as five different players earned a kill during the stretch. Three consecutive kills by Ferrara brought the Pride within one at 11-10, but Rivier put together a 12-4 scoring run to extend its advantage back to nine at 23-14. Regis scored four of five points to extend the set before Ethan Soltis clinched it for the Raiders with a kill.
Ly led Rivier at the start of the third set with four kills to help his team establish a 7-2 lead. The Raiders went on an 11-3 scoring run to increase their lead to 19-7 before the Pride again battled back, this time with five of six points late in the set. Rivier took advantage of a Regis service error to close out the set and the match.
The Raiders were led by Ly with 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage along with four digs and three total blocks. Campos notched a double-double with 28 assists and 11 digs to go along with six kills, a .400 hitting percentage, and three total blocks.
In the middle match of the day, Wentworth defeated Rivier, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-15) as the Leopards hit .471 in the contest. LaBouliere led Wentworth with 19 kills and six digs, with Adams dishing out 40 assists to go along with two service aces and six digs. Lezon and David Smith paced Rivier with nine kills apiece, while Campos collected 33 assists.
Regis College (12-16, 7-9 GNAC) will play a first round match in the GNAC Tournament Tuesday, April 5. Wentworth (26-4, 15-1 GNAC) has clinched the top seed in the tournament and receives a bye into the semifinals, while Rivier (16-9, 13-3 GNAC) will also take part in the conference tournament next week.