BOSTON, Mass. – The nationally-ranked No. 12 MIT men's volleyball team kicked off the 2014 season by blanking local foes Newbury College (25-13, 25-18, 25-22) and Emerson College (25-17, 25-22, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon. With the wins, the Engineers start their campaign with a 2-0 ledger.

Senior Paul Syta (Fairport, N.Y.) tallied 12 assists, five digs, three aces, and two blocks in the opener with Newbury. Senior Kenny Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) paced the Engineers with eight kills and added two aces while junior Alex Klein (San Diego, Calif.) followed with six kills. Junior Chris Omahan (Mount Vernon, Ohio) added five kills as freshman Martin Krasuski (Aurora, Ill.) compiled six digs, four kills, and two blocks. Sophomore Brendan Chang (Laytonsville, Md.) and freshman Suyash Fulay (Wexford, Pa.) both collected seven digs while freshman Narindra Peaks (Voorhees, N.J.) bolstered the defense with two blocks. Senior Evan Wang (Saratoga, Calif.) rounded out the Cardinal and Gray with 17 assists.

Against the host Lions, Klein amassed a match-high 11 kills on 15-errorless attempts for a .733 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks. Syta produced 21 assists, seven kills, a .545 hitting performance, four digs, and two blocks as Omahan recorded six kills and a .455 hitting effort. Siebert notched 10 digs, five kills, two aces, and two blocks while Chang totaled eight digs. Junior Andrew Busse (Mount Prospect, Ill.) and freshman Aaron Zalewski (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) registered four and three blocks, respectively, as Wang finished with 17 assists and seven digs.

MIT returns to action on Monday, Jan. 27 when it makes its United Volleyball Conference debut by hosting Bard College at 7:00 p.m.