BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team suffered a straight-set (25-15, 25-20, 25-20) loss to GNAC opponent Wentworth on Wednesday night as the Leopards hit .280 as a team and blocked the Gulls offense 10 times in their season opener.
Endicott (1-3) saw junior outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) tie Wentworth freshman outside Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) for a match-high 10 kills, but the Leopards got complementary efforts from senior Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) and freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) who contributed with nine kills apiece.
Wentworth's blocking game was fueled by four block assists and a solo stuff from sophomore middle Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) as well as four total blocks from Donahue. Four other Leopards had their hands in blocks of the Endicott attack.
Other than Osborne, Endicott's got five kills from junior outside Dan Seaver (Milford, Mass.) but no other player added more than three kills. Freshman Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) totaled 20 assists and dumped two kills in the loss.
Defensively for Endicott, juniors Chandler Tayek (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) and Daniel Toth (Vernon, N.J.)both had three block assists while Tayek added a team-high six digs. Senior libero Kristian Catalan (Sudbury, Mass.) also had five digs.
Wentworth setter Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) was able to distribute 32 assists to six different teammates. Along with Mullen, Donahue, and Roat, Potts was able to strike six kills on 12 attempts with just two errors.
Endicott will hold their home opener on Tuesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m. against #12 MIT in MacDonald Gymnasium. Tuesday's match is a rematch of last season's NCAA First Round match that saw the Gulls win 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 27-25) en route to a quarterfinal appearance.
