Wheaton College (MA)

BOSTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College men's volleyball team shipped up to Boston for a tri-match hosted by the Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday morning, but fell in the opening match to the number 18 ranked Panthers 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) despite 13 kills from first year outside R. Bennett Chiappetta (Middlefield, Conn.) at Tansey Gymnasium in Boston, Mass.

Wheaton fell to 6-7 on the year with the loss, while Wentworth improved to 10-2 on the year.

Chiappetta led the Lyons with 13 kills on .296 hitting with five digs, while sophomore Connor Lloyd (Swansea, Mass.) and first year Ryan Rathbun (North Kingstown, R.I.) both notched five kills. First year setter Sebastian DeCubellis (Lincoln, R.I.) picked up 13 assists to lead the team in that category, while first year Evan Shea (North Kingstown, R.I.) finished with 12 assists for a new career high. 

Wentworth sophomore Luke McQuaid (Jamesville-Dewitt, N.Y.) finished with the best hitting percentage of the game with nine kills on .500 hitting, but first year Cody Popp (Wilmington, Del.) nudged ahead of his teammate with 10 kills on the day. First year setter Cody Harrison (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished with 14 assists to lead his side, while first year libero Juan Zuniga (West Valley City, Utah) finished with six digs to tie for the team lead with Popp. 

The match opened with McQuaid putting down the first kill for Wentworth, but the Lyons were able to respond swiftly thanks to Chiappetta. The first-year outside hammered three straight kills to put his team ahead 3-1. The Panthers would quickly climb back to level pegging with the Lyons after DeCubellis missed a serve, but Chiappetta sent another kill to the floor to keep his team in front at 5-4. They would push the lead even further as sophomore Ellis Vasquez (Medford, Mass.) picked up his first kill of the game. Wentworth wasted no time in chasing the Lyons' 7-5 lead, and tied the game at 7-7 soon after the Lyons inched ahead. A pair of errors by the hosts gave the Lyons the advantage at 10-8. That would be the final time they led in the frame, as Wentworth exploded for a five point run. Chiappetta strung together kills on back-to-back points for the Lyons to keep them within reach, but Popp and McQuaid each earned a pair of points to keep their side ahead. Another four points in a row went unanswered by the Lyons, putting them down 22-15. Rathbun put down a kill and first year Masiah Prak (Coventry, R.I.) added two more, but the late effort was insufficient as the Lyons dropped the first set 25-18. 

Prak would put down a kill early in the second set to help them to a 3-2 lead, but again the lead was short-lived. Wentworth posted a 6-1 scoring run to regain a strong lead, helped along by two more kills from Popp. Chiappetta responded with a kill, and the Lyons took full advantage of several Wentworth errors to tie the set up at 10-10. Lloyd held the Lyons even at 11-11 following a kill from him, but the Panthers answered with a 10-3 scoring run to take a commanding lead at 21-15. The Lyons picked up a point after first year Jordan Rodriguez (East Providence, R.I.) put down a kill, but McQuaid finished off the Lyons with a kill to take the set, 25-18. 

Chiappetta stayed strong at the start of the third set, but Wentworth was able to keep pace with the Lyons up to 4-4. Lloyd put down a kill right after, but it was canceled out by a Wheaton attack error. Rathbun notched another kill and the Panthers made two quick errors to put Wheaton ahead once more at 8-6, but McQuaid dragged his team back to the tie with a kill. Lloyd scored again, and McQuaid missed his serve to put Wheaton up by two points once again, but the number 18 ranked team in the country would not go down easily. They strung together a 6-2 scoring run to pull away from their opponent, but Rathbun would bring the Lyons back to even after three kills. Wentworth would find themselves unable to convert their chances, making a number of errors to keep the score tied at 17-17. That would be the final tie for Wheaton as their hosts pushed ahead to match point at 24-20. Chiappetta would earn one last kill, but the Panthers finished off the game with a kill of their own to down Wheaton 25-22. 

Wheaton will take on Stevens in the next game of the Tri-Match at noon. Wentworth will resume action after Wheaton and Stevens play, taking on Stevens at 2:00 pm in their gym.