FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

#1 WENTWORTH 3, #4 ELMS 0
BOSTON, Mass. – The #10 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated Elms College 3-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinal Thursday, April 7, advancing to the GNAC Final this Saturday against Lasell University with the win.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (27-4, 16-1 GNAC)
• Elms (15-15, 10-7 GNAC) 

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Hunter Oshman, 11
• Assists – Connor Adams, 35
• Digs – Jacob LaBouliere, 5
• Aces – Colin Stockton, Tyler Jack, Connor Adams, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth jumped out to a 3-0 lead following kills by sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) and junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.). After a kill by graduate student David Marsh(Springfield, Mass.), another LaBouliere kill and a service ace by sophomore Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) gave the Leopards a 9-4 lead. The Blazers came back to win three of the next four points, making it a 10-7 score. As the teams traded points, kills by Marsh, junior Hunter Oshman(Pennington, N.J.), and junior Alex McLane (Columbus, Ohio) brought it to a 13-9 Wentworth lead. Two straight kills by Elms' Carlos Mercado (Barranquitas, P.R.) narrowed the lead to two points, but two points by the Leopards, including the third kill from LaBouliere, extended the advantage back to four points for Wentworth. The Blazers went on to narrow the gap to one point after winning four of five, but the Leopards went on a 5-1 run right after, including kills by both Oshman and LaBouliere and forcing an Elms timeout. The Blazers won the next three coming out of the break, shrinking Wentworth's lead to 21-19. The Leopards then won four of five to close out the set with a 25-20 win, as Oshman, LaBouliere, and McLane picked up one kill apiece, and Stockton picked up an ace.
• Wentworth took control early in the second, taking an 8-2 lead after a pair of aces by senior Connor Adams (Budd Lake, N.J.) and kills by Oshman and Stockton. Elms won two of three to bring it to 9-5, followed by three straight Leopard points to make it a seven-point lead. Two more kills by Mercado cut it to six, but Oshman came back with two kills of his own, and an ace by Stockton made it an 18-9 lead for the home team. A pair of kills by both LaBouliere and Oshman brought it to a 22-13 lead, then the Leopards closed it out with one kill by Stockton and two from McLane to win the second set 25-14.
• The teams played to a 3-3 tie early in the third, as Oshman and Stockton had one kill each. After Jack picked up another ace to make it 5-3, the Blazers won two of three to make it a one-point set. But Wentworth took over after that, going on a 12-3 run to blow it open and go ahead 18-8. LaBouliere, McLane and Oshman had two kills during the stretch, and Oshman added an ace as well. After two points by Elms, the Leopards won three in a row, as senior Drew Potter (Towson, Md.) score one kill and one block to make it 22-10. Kills by Adams and Potter then finished the match, as Wentworth claimed a 25-13 victory in the third to advance to the GNAC Final.
• The win marks the fifth straight appearance in the GNAC championship match (2016-19, 2022) for the Leopards, who won championships in 2016 and 2017.
• Wentworth is hosting the conference championship match for the third time in program history (2016, 2017, 2022).
• This is the Leopards' 27^th win of the season, tying for the second-most in a single season.
• Wentworth won its 12^th consecutive match Thursday, matching the second-longest streak in program history.
• The team is undefeated at home this season, as they improves to 11-0 in tansey Gymnasium with tonight's victory.
• This was the 20^th straight-set victory of the season for the Leopards, who have won 25 consecutive sets.
• Lasell in the finals, it's the second-ever championship meeting (2017)

THE SERIES:

• This was the 20^th time the two teams have met, with Wentworth now holding a 16-4 advantage in the series.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards now advance to the GNAC Final Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m., when they host Lasell University. This is the second time the two programs have met in the GNAC Championship, with Wentworth winning the previous matchup in 2017.

Courtesy of WIT Athletics Communications.

2 LASELL 3, #3 RIVIER 1

NEWTON, Mass. - The second-seeded Lasell University men's volleyball team kept rolling Thursday evening, as the Lasers punched their ticket to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship game with a thrilling 3-1 triumph over third-seeded Rivier during the semifinals in the Athletic Center.

"We played a great match today," said Lasell University Men's Volleyball Head Coach Jeff Vautrin. "Rivier is a very strong, historic and experienced team. With the Raiders' senior leadership and having two phenomenal volleyball minds in David Smith and Pedro Campos, we knew it was going to be a hard-fought match. Our guys really stepped up. With a starting lineup of four freshmen and three juniors, we knew it would be a great learning experience as well. Jesus Garcia, Brenden Joyce and Jan Baranowski were the rock we needed tonight."

Lasell has embarked on a historic 2022 season, including defeating No. 1-ranked Springfield, 3-1, on March 1, marking the first time the program defeated Springfield and also the first time defeating the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Lasers defeated the Raiders (17-10, 13-3 GNAC) in 2-of-3 matches this season. Lasell will face a tall task in the GNAC title game Saturday at 7 p.m., as it travels to top-seeded and No. 10-ranked Wentworth (27-4, 15-1 GNAC). The two teams split the regular-season series, which each squad holding serve at home.The Lasers (22-8, 14-2 GNAC) advance to their fourth GNAC title game in program history and first since 2017. The 2015 team, which included Vautrin, won the conference championship and advanced to the program's first NCAA Tournament.

On Thursday, the Lasers were led by Joyce (15 kills, 7 digs), Baranowski (9 total blocks, 7 kills), Jordan Shinaut (11 kills, 7 total blocks) and Garcia (43 assists). Joyce tallied a hitting percentage of .424. Lasell set program records in block assists (22) and total blocks (28) during a four-set match.

"Tonight's match was an unreal, pressure-packed match," said Garcia. "As a team, we responded really well, played our match and did our job. This was a huge step for us as a team and I could not be more proud of us. The support we had from the crowd today and for the whole season has been incredible. They were a huge part of our season so far. We have a huge matchup ahead of us on Saturday against Wentworth. We are only getting better and Saturday will be a barn burner of a match. We cannot wait to compete."

Leading the way for the Raiders were Smith (19 kills, 8 digs), Campos (47 assists), Sokunbuth Ly (16 kills) and Jack Hromada (12 digs).

The Lasers compiled 15 kills in the first set and recorded a team hitting percentage of .462. Rivier built a 21-18 advantage in the opening set, but a kill by Baranowski, assisted by Garcia, gave the Lasers a 25-23 victory.

The Raiders responded in the second set, building an 18-11 cushion on a kill by Ethan Soltis. Lasell answered with an 11-5 run, cutting the deficit down to 23-22. The visitors won the set, 25-22, with a game-clinching service ace by Isaac Borges.

The Lasers showed a great deal of mental toughness during the third set. A kill by Smith put the Raiders in front, 25-24, and gave Rivier game point and on the verge of taking a 2-1 lead. Vautrin took a timeout and the Lasers came through in the clutch with three consecutive points, earning a 27-25 triumph. The late run was powered by a kill from Joyce and two service points by Garcia.

"Our communication and energy were great on the floor as well and our fans today really helped in keeping our energy high," said Vautrin. "I would like to say thank you to the Lasell community for its support and a special congratulations to everyone that is currently in our program on their first conference playoff win."

The fourth set was tied at 13-13, and then Lasell embarked on a 12-5 run to clinch a 25-18 victory. Zak Burkett delivered the match-clinching ace.

Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.