THE BASICS:
 
- Score:
No. 15 Rutgers-Newark - 3, MIT - 1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 25-23)
 
- Records: MIT (10-11), Rutgers-Newark (11-5)
 
- Location: Newark, N.J. (The Golden Dome)
 
- The Lead: The MIT men's volleyball team looked to hold off No. 15 Rutgers-Newark on Friday night, however, the Engineers fell just short of the upset as they dropped a tightly contested 3-1 road match to the Scarlet Raiders.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Set 1: Rutgers-Newark used a 6-3 run to take a 17-11 lead and eventually built a 23-15 lead. After a service error, senior Nick Gustafson (San Diego, Calif.) recorded an ace as the Engineers recorded five straight points to make it a three-point set, but the home team held on to take set one, 25-20.
 
- Set 2: Back-to-back kills from Gustafson and junior Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) gave the Engineers an early 5-4 lead. After back-to-back points from the Scarlet Raiders got them to within two at 17-15, Gustafson jump-started a 7-0 MIT run to get MIT to set point. After three-straight points from the home team made it a 24-18 contest, a service error gave the Engineers the 25-18 win.
 
- Set 3: Back-to-back kills from sophomore Riley Oh (Irvine, Calif.) followed by a kill from senior Troy Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) gave the Engineers a 6-4 lead. MIT held onto the lead until two-straight points put Rutgers-Newark up one at 16-15 and the hosts eventually built a 20-17 lead. Junior Phillip Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) started a 4-0 run as a block by Oh and first-year Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) put MIT up one, however, the home team rallied and went on to take the set 25-23.
 
- Set 4: Down 7-1 early, MIT slowly began to chip away at the Scarlet Raiders' lead as a 4-1 run made it a 22-18 set. With the home team holding match point, the Engineers went on a 5-0 run to get to within one point, but a kill from Daniel Quay gave Rutgers-Newark the 25-23 win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Oliveria led the Engineers with 15 kills followed by Oh with nine. Gustafson finished the match with eight kills and Johnson added six.
 
- Turner put up a team-high 39 assists and nine digs.
 
- Johnson and Rini led MIT with five blocks a piece.
 
- Rutgers-Newark was led by Andrew Zaleck with 27 kills and Derek Au with 43 assists.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- The Engineers continue their road trip with matches against Ramapo and Kean at the Klash at Kean Tri-Match tomorrow evening. MIT will take on Ramapo at 4:00 p.m. followed by Kean at 6:00 p.m.
 
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