Providence, RI – The Johnson & Wales men's volleyball team had second-place Wentworth on the ropes, but couldn't deliver the knockout punch on Tuesday. The Leopards rallied to beat the Wildcats, 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 15-5).

Wentworth: 16-8, 8-2 GNAC
Johnson & Wales: 12-12, 4-4 GNAC

JWU Statistical Leaders:
Cameron Ponce: 22 Assists, 12 Digs, 9 Kills
Kanila Chang: 12 Kills, 5 Digs, 2 Blocks
Kyle Eva: 8 Kills, 6 Blocks

Of Note:
After taking a 2-1 lead in the match, Johnson & Wales dug itself a hole in the fourth set. JWU gave WIT half of its points on errors as the visitors jumped out to a 16-6 lead. The Wildcats fought back and pulled to within 19-15 on a block by Kyle Eva (Charlestown, RI) and Kyle MacKnight (East Northport, NY). Wentworth won the next point on a long rally and went on to win the set, 25-17.

Fueling WIT's comeback was strong serving and that was the difference in the deciding fifth set. The Leopards had three aces in the last stanza. The serving of Kevin McPeek and Jake Reed also got JWU out of system and prevented the Wildcats from running their offense. For the match, WIT had an 11-6 advantage in aces.

Johnson & Wales' strong front row kept it in the match. The Wildcats had a 14-9 advantage in blocks. Eva led the way with six rejections while Rakeem Malone (St. Thomas, USVI) and Brendan Baker (Providence, RI) followed with five. Sophomore Kanila Chang (Orlando, Fla.) topped the JWU offensive attack with 12 kills.

JWU got a pair of double-doubles from setters Cameron Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) and Jason Rhee (Aurora, Colo.) Ponce had 22 assists and 12 digs, as well as nine kills, while Rhee also had 12 digs to go along with 19 assists.

Wentworth got 66 percent of its offense from three players. Sean Mullen led all players with 13 kills. Jon Roat was next with a dozen and Jake Reed added 11. WIT out-hit JWU, .190-.154, and had a 60-54 margin for digs.

Up Next:
The Wildcats host a pair of GNAC matches on Saturday when they welcome Rivier for a 10 a.m. match followed by Albertus Magnus at 2 p.m.