THE BASICS:
 
- Scores:
MIT - 3, Emerson - 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19)
Nichols - 3, MIT - 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 31-29)
 
- Records: MIT (6-2), Emerson (0-4), Nichols (5-3)
 
- Location: Boston, Mass. (Brown & Plofker Gym)
 
- The Lead: The MIT men's volleyball team split its two matches on Saturday afternoon as the Engineers earned a 3-0 victory over hosts Emerson but fell to Nichols by a 3-1 score.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. EMERSON:
 
- Set 1: MIT took an early 8-4 lead in the opening stanza highlighted by three kills from junior Jack Roberson (Darien, Conn.). The host crept back into the set, eventually getting to within one at 10-9 on a kill from Neiko Pittman. After that, the Engineers began to pull away as they used a 6-3 run to go up four. Once again Emerson pulled to within one at 16-15 off an MIT attack error but a 4-0 MIT run capped by a kill from sophomore Ben Sheres (San Diego, Calif.) put MIT up five, and he later sealed the set with a kill.
 
- Set 2: After an MIT attacking error made it a one-point match, the Engineers scored five the next eight points to go up 17-14. The Lions went on a 3-0 run to make the score 22-19 before a kill from first-year Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) ended the home team's run and the Engineers went on to take set two on by a 25-20 score on a Sheres kill.  
 
- Set 3: MIT jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Emerson scored four of the next five points to tie the set. The two teams stayed close before back-to-back kills from first-year Ben Volokh (Studio City, Calif.) jump-started a 4-0 Engineers run to give them a 19-14 advantage. The host responded with a 3-0 run to pull to within two, but the Engineers got six of the next eight points to take the win.
 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Volokh led the Engineers with 12 kills while Rini added 11 and Sheres finished with eight.
 
- First-year Kevin Windisch (Placentia, Calif.) had a team-high seven digs, and classmate George Chang (Winter Springs, Fla.) had six.
 
- Sophomore Riley Oh (Irvine, Calif.) led the team with 24 assists and senior Albert Luo (Dallas, Texas) contributed 11.  
 
- Pittman led Emerson with nine kills in the match.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. NICHOLS

- Set 1: Nichols took an early 4-0 advantage, but the Engineers crept back, and a 4-0 run put MIT in the lead, 8-7. The teams traded the lead and a kill from sophomore Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) kickstarted a 3-1 run which saw MIT go up 21-19. The Bison continued to hang in the set getting back to within one at 22-21, but the Engineers scored three of the next four as a kill from senior Nick Gustafson (San Diego, Calif.) gave MIT the first set win.
 
- Set 2: After a Johnson kill tied the set at four, Nichols went on a 4-0 run to double up the Engineers. Back-to-back points from Gustafson cut the Bison lead to 20-14 but MIT could not get much closer as Nichols won the second set, 25-18.
 
- Set 3: Nichols raced out to a 13-6 lead and never looked back as the Bison held off every MIT run. A kill from senior Troy Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) made it an 18-11 set but the Engineers would not get any closer as Nichols took the set 25-17.
 
- Set 4: MIT opened the set on a 3-0 run before Nichols responded to tie the set. This sparked a back-and-forth affair that continued throughout the set. Trailing 11-9, Oliveira jump-started an Engineer run which got the set tied at 12. The teams continued to go back and forth before Nichols built a 20-17 lead. The Engineers came out of their timeout with a 5-0 run punctuated by a Gustafson kill to go up two. The Bison came back to tie the set yet again as neither team could pull away for the win. Oliveira tied the set at 29 and after a Nichols timeout, the Bison scored the next two points for victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Gustafson led the way with 17 kills followed by Oliveira with 16 and Oh with nine.
 
- Junior Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) led the Engineers with 37 assists and six digs.
 
- Johnson posted four blocks in the match.
 
- Carlos Mercado led Nichols with 16 kills and Dylan Urbanski led the team with 37 assists.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT returns to the court for the Volleyball Hall of Fame Classic. The Engineers will open the two-day event with a match on Friday, February 10 against No. 4 Springfield at 8 p.m.   
 
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