Wentworth Institute of Technology: Athletics > Varsity Sports

The Program at a Glance

For years, the Wentworth women’s volleyball team has been on an upswing, attempting to maintain a level of consistency that will make it one of the elite teams in the area and a force in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The program began in 1987, instantly generating enthusiasm and becoming very popular on campus. The Leopards began slowly, playing local Boston schools before going out and competing against a wider array of institutions. While success was limited initially, the players gained experience that helped build the program for the future.

The building process carried over into the 1990s, but it wasn’t until the 1996 season that the team experienced success. The Leopards began to click in the 1997 season when the team posted a 10-13 record, the best in the school’s short volleyball history.

Graduation hit that team and the next three seasons served as rebuilding years. In 2002, the women’s volleyball team took an enormous step in the right direction, establishing a new school record for wins with a 13-15 record and earning a spot, for the first time, in the CCC Tournament. Wentworth battled third-seeded Endicott from start to finish, dropping a tough 3-1 decision.

The Leopards followed that up with a return trips to the CCC Tournament in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. The 2005 season with the finest season in the history of the program, as Wentworth finished 14-14—the first time a Wentworth women’s volleyball team has reached the .500 plateau.

After missing the conference tournament in 2007 for the first time in six seasons, the Leopards hoped to improve upon a 6-16 mark. However, having lost four players from the season before left Wentworth's roster thin and that would attribute to a slow, 0-7 start to the season. Back-to-back wins over Newbury and Anna Maria jump started the season, but the Leopards found themselves winning just one of the next seven matches. Closing in on the stretch run Wentworth rolled off five wins in its next seven matches and headed into the final two matches of the season needing to win both to clinch a playoff spot. The Leopards came up short in both to finish the season with an 8-17 record. Freshman Julie Bruton (Montgomey, Texas) had a stellar first year, averaging 2.55 kills and 2.68 digs per set and earned Honorable Mention All-The Commonwealth Coast Conference honors. Junior Danielle Banks (Ellicott City, Md.), the 2006 conference rookie of the year, averaged 2.75 kills and 2.89 digs.

Losing just one player to graduation, the women's volleyball team returns a strong nucleus of players who should all contribute to the Leopards being in contention for a berth in the conference tournament after a two-year absence.

Schedule

The Leopards play a full schedule that includes 10 TCCC matches against such schools as Endicott, Roger Williams, Colby-Sawyer, and Gordon. The non-league schedule consists of matches against Lasell, UMass Boston, Emmanuel, Framingham State, WPI, Babson, and Trinity. Wentworth will be playing in three tournaments in 2009 - the Emerson/Wentworth Tournament, the Brandeis Invitational, and the Blue Jay Classic at Elizabethtown College.

Home matches are played in Tansey Gymnasium, located on the Wentworth campus. Since the 1998 season the matches have taken place on the main court, while in 1996 the facility received a major facelift with the installation of a brand new floor.