AMCATS fall to Leopards in 3 sets

Paxton, Mass. – The Anna Maria College men's volleyball team dropped three straight sets to visiting Wentworth College, (25-14, 25-9, 25-18), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday evening at Fuller Activities Center. The AMCATS slide to 1-13 (0-9 GNAC) on the season, while the Leopards improve to 19-7 (8-2 GNAC).

For the AMCATS, freshmen Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Dylan Copeland (Haverhill, Mass.) led the offense with five kills apiece.  Freshman Michael Gaudelli (Milford, Mass.) dished out a team-high fourteen assists while sophomore Jeffrey LaRochelle (Plainville, Mass.) notched a team-high six digs on defense. 

Wentworth freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) collected a match high eighteen assists and freshman teammate Mike Hansen (Rochester, N.Y.) led the offense with ten kills, nine of which were assisted by Ritter.  Senior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) anchored the Leopard defense with eight total digs.

The AMCATS and Leopards split the first six points of the opening set, 3-3.  The Leopards offense took over from there, going on a 9-2 run to give them a 12-5 advantage.  Anna Maria was unable to cut into the lead as Wentworth cruised to a 25-14 opening set win.

The Leopards were able to carry their momentum over to the second set, as they stormed out to an early 7-1 lead.  The early advantage proved to be insurmountable as Wentworth stormed past Anna Maria in the second set, 25-9.

In the closest match of the night, Anna Maria would score first with a kill from Dalton Gill (Florida, N.Y.) and they held a 7-6 advantage after a kill from senior Jonathan Gallardo (Marlborough, Mass.).   The Leopards battled back, scoring the next four points to take a 10-7 lead.  The two offenses continued to fight for control of the match, and an AMCATS service ace by Peter Griffenkranz had the squad within striking distance of the Leopards, down 19-16.  Wentworth had one more run left, as they were able to close out the set by scoring 6 of the last 8 points, giving them the 3-0 victory.    

Anna Maria returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Emmanuel College for a GNAC tri-match.  They will battle the Emmanuel College Saints at 12:00 p.m. and the Emerson College Lions at 2:00 p.m.