Men's Volleyball Overpowers Southern Vermont

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT men’s volleyball team defeated Southern Vermont College, 30-8, 30-4, 30-9, in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division match on Tuesday night. With the win, the Engineers improved to 15-6 on the year and 7-2 in conference action while the Mountaineers dipped to 1-11 overall and 1-9 in NECVA play.

MIT opened the contest with 11 unanswered points, but a kill by Sean Moore and a miscue by the Engineers returned Southern Vermont’s deficit to single digits. The Cardinal and Gray responded with an 18-5 run that resulted in set point. A serving error extended the frame for Southern Vermont however the hosts captured the next point to secure the win.

Each side exchanged points to start the second stanza before MIT recorded 15 in a row. The scoring was fairly balanced as a strike by Chris Williams off the Engineers’ block made the score, 19-4, in favor of MIT. The Engineers then rattled off 11 straight points to close the set.

The early stages of the final frame were closely played as kills by Jullian Amaral brought Southern Vermont within two on a pair of occasions, the last at 6-4. MIT gained some breathing room by picking up the next two points, but a service error kept the Mountaineers within striking distance. The Engineers then mounted a 16-2 run which extended their lead to 24-7. Southern Vermont capitalized on a pair of miscues, but it would not be enough to generate a late rally as MIT recorded the final six points of the match.

In a balanced attack, Garrett Winther paced the Engineers with seven kills to go along with four digs, and two aces. Matt Hohenberger racked up six kills, four aces, and two blocks while Patrick Vatterott and David Thomas each posted six kills. Mike Demyttenaere and Troy Tamas both notched five kills as Benson George added four of his own. Alex Becherer tallied eight digs, three kills, and two aces while Jeremy Velazquez collected six digs. Eric Reuland and Daniel Sngiem rounded out the back row with four and three digs, respectively. Caine Jette totaled 20 assists and five aces while Tim Lee compiled 10 assists and four digs.

Ruari Clancy and Amaral led the Mountaineers with seven digs apiece. Moore finished with four digs and two kills as Neel Patel recorded three assists and an ace.

Both squads will compete in tri-matches this weekend. MIT will host Elms College and Emmanuel College on Saturday, Feb. 27. The next day, Southern Vermont will travel to Daniel Webster College where it will also take on Lesley University.