Box Score The men's volleyball battled all the way back from down two sets before suffering a heart breaking 3-2 (19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 10-15) setback against No. 14 Wentworth in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest on the Wildcat Center on Monday evening.
Johnson & Wales sophomore Brendan Baker (Providence, R.I.) recorded a career-best 20 kills and added five digs and three blocks while junior Ryan Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) added a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs in the setback. Setter J.J. Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) notched 46 set assists and added two blocks for the Wildcats.
Freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Fla.) paced Wentworth with 16 kills and seven digs while freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) and sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) each had 12 kills for the Leopards. Sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) notched 47 set assists with four kills and three blocks in the victory.
Johnson & Wales had control of the first set and held the 14-8 advantage after a block by Baker. Wentworth responded, however and knotted the set at 17-17 on a kill by Ritter. JWU had the 19-17 lead late in the first set, but the visiting Leopards took over down the stretch to take the 25-19 win in the set and a 1-0 lead in the match. Wentworth lead the entire second set, taking the 25-20 win to pull ahead 2-0 in the contest.
The Wildcats started their comeback in the third set, using a 9-4 run late in the set to take a 23-18 lead after a Wentworth miscue. JWU then held on for the 25-20 win to close the gap to 2-1. JWU would knot the match at 2-2 with a commanding performance in the fourth set. The Wildcats raced out to the early lead and had a 20-11 lead on a kill by Baker. JWU then cruised to the 25-18 win to set up the fifth and deciding set.
The two teams battled back and forth early in the final set with neither team holding a more than two point advantage. JWU trailed just 11-10 on a kill by Kennedy, however Wentworth then scored the final four points of the set to seal the 15-10 win and the 3-2 win in the contest.
With the setback Johnson & Wales falls to 12-4 on the year and 2-2 in the GNAC while Wentworth improves to 13-3 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Wildcats will return to action on Thursday, February 26th when they travel to Emerson for a GNAC contest starting at 7:00 p.m.
