THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 18 MIT 3, Springfield College 2 (28-26, 20-25, 17-25, 25-10, 15-5)
 
- Records: No. 18 MIT (14-0, 5-0 NEWMAC), Springfield (11-2, 3-2 NEWMAC)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
 
- The Lead: Trailing two sets to one, nationally-ranked No. 18 MIT rallied to defeat Springfield College in the final two frames and capture a 28-26, 20-25, 17-25, 25-10, 15-5 victory in a NEWMAC women's volleyball match on Tuesday night.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Set 1: The opening set featured 18 ties and eight lead changes. A kill by Natalie Billet gave Springfield set point at 24-23. However, a kill from junior Lilly Edwards (Kansas City, Mo.) kicked off an exchange of points as an ace by first-year Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) put MIT in front, 26-25. The Pride's Ashley Tanner evened the score with a kill, but back-to-back kills by first-year Ella Gragg (Morganton, N.C.) clinched the 28-26 win.
 
- Set 2: The Engineers inched out to a 9-6 lead; however, a hitting error sparked a 7-1 run that put Springfield ahead for good. MIT came within one point on two occasions, the last at 19-18 courtesy of senior Annie Bryan's (Kirkwood, Mo.) kill. This was as close as it would get as the Pride used a 6-2 burst to secure the set, capped by a kill from Tanner.
 
- Set 3: Tied at five, Springfield rattled off five straight points, including a pair of Billet kills. The Engineers responded with a 6-1 spurt as a kill from Bryan evened the score at 11. The Pride countered with six unanswered points, helping propel it to a 25-17 victory.
 
- Set 4: Knotted at three, MIT capitalized on a serving error which ignited a 12-1 run. The Engineers maintained a comfortable cushion as they cruised to a 25-10 victory.
 
- Set 5: A kill from senior Hannah Grupe (Oakwood, Ohio) evened the score at two and kicked off a string of seven unanswered points. MIT went on to outscore Springfield, 7-2, to complete the comeback.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Edwards led all players with 22 kills while hitting .321 and posting 10 digs. Gragg totaled 18 kills and four blocks as junior Alyssa Unell (Scottsdale, Ariz.) generated 10 kills, a .625 hitting performance, and eight blocks.
 
- Sophomore Emily Cheng (Sunnyvale, Calif.) tallied 52 assists, 12 digs, and three blocks while Personeni recorded 13 digs and two aces. Bryan bolstered the defense with five blocks.
 
- Billet powered Springfield with 17 kills, 12 digs, and three blocks as Camryn Bancroft notched eight kills and four blocks.
 
- Sara Labadorf dished out 31 assists while Briana Tovar collected a match-high 14 digs. Abigail Wright ended the night with a match-high five aces.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT returns to action on Friday, Oct. 1 when it travels to Framingham State University for a 6:00 p.m. match. Springfield, meanwhile, will host NEWMAC foe WPI the following day at 2:00 p.m.
 
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