Sunday, February 24, 2013 (Newton, Massachusetts) - In the opening contest of a partial Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match in Newton, Massachusetts Sunday morning, host Mount Ida College men's volleyball surrendered a 3-0 loss to visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology falling by scores of 15-25, 14-25 and 20-25.
The Mustangs, who drop their third contest in a row and their second straight league match-up, fall to an overall record of 4-8, 0-3 in GNAC action while the Leopards remain perfect in GNAC play (2-0) going 7-4 for the year.
Mount Ida was led by freshman middle hitter Justin Rhoden (Corona, CA/Corona Centennial) adding a game-high nine kills on 14 attempts with only two errors. Senior Captain and outside hitter Spencer Hastings (Orlando, FL/Timber Creak) tallied eight kills and eight digs while freshman libero Jimmy Wessel (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) notched a game-high 12 digs. Senior Captain Ricky Oliveira (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) recorded nine digs respectively.
For the Leopards, junior Brain Mann (East Freetown, MA/Apponequet) and sophomore Sean Donahue (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) controlled the net in the middle blocking position adding seven kills and two solo blocks each. Senior setter Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) dished out a game-high 28 assists while junior Ross Burdett (Needham, MA/Needham) added eight digs.
The visiting teams would meet in match two of the day in a non-league match-up with Wentworth ousting Newbury College winning 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 25-20. The Leopards would head home with their second victory with an overall slate of 7-4.
Leading WIT offensively was Burdett recording a game-high 14 kills on 21 attempts with only one error while sophomore outside hitter Rami Akouri (Fall River, MA/Durfee) tallied 10 kills and a game-high 11 digs. Donahue commanded the net with an impressive four solo blocks and two block assists while Moriarty dealt out 37 dishes.
Newbury was led by sophomore Chi Yin Li (Framingham, MA/Framingham) and freshman Tyler Sayne (Tucson, AZ/Canyon del Oro) with five kills each with Li also adding a team-high eight assists.
In the last match of the day, Mount Ida was stymied by non-conference Newbury College in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-25 and 9-15. The Mustangs commanded the first two sets only to surrender the final three frames finalizing the day's tri-match at 0-2.
The hosts drop their fourth in a row slumping to an overall record of 4-9 still searching for their first conference win while Newbury leaves going 1-1 after an opening loss to Wentworth in the prior match improving to 3-7 for 2013 holding at 1-2 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.
Hastings would lead Mount Ida with 18 kills on 49 attempts while Rhoden wasn't far behind with 15 kills on 39 chances. Both players added two solo blocks each combining for 15 digs respectively. Rodriguez continues to distribute the ball well distributing 46 assists with two service aces. Freshman outside hitter James Ames (West Hartford, CT/Conard) was useful for his squad notching eight kills on 20 attempts.
Newbury saw a game-high 20 kills from sophomore outside hitter Jake Powell (Salinas, CA/Palma) on 33 chances for an impressive .455 hitting percentage. Yin Li would go on to contribute another strong offensive performance with 12 kills and a game-high 16 digs while Sayne tallied 15 kills on 32 attempts
adding a game-high three service aces.
The Mustangs will host Emerson College this coming Tuesday evening with the opening service coming at 6:00 p.m. The Nighthawks will travel to NECC opponent Southern Vermont College Friday evening at 4:00 p.m. while Wentworth will host non-league Elms College Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.