THE BASICS:
 
- Scores:
No. 7 New Paltz - 3, MIT 2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-12)
Rivier - 3, MIT – 1 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20, 25-22)
 
- Records: MIT (9-7, 0-2 UVC), New Paltz (15-6, 1-1 UVC), Rivier (7-8)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
 
- The Lead: The MIT men's volleyball team saw a 2-0 lead against No. 7 New Paltz slip away and fell 3-1 to Rivier on Saturday afternoon in Rockwell Cage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. NEW PALTZ:
 
- Set 1: In a back-and-forth opening set, senior Troy Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) gave MIT a 12-11 lead which was followed by a kill from first-year Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to give the Engineers a two-point lead. The Hawks got to within one on a Pat Wing kill to make it a 19-18 match, but MIT scored the next three to go up four and held on to take set one 25-21 on a kill from Oliveira.  
 
- Set 2: Wing pulled New Paltz even at 11 with a kill but the Engineers scored the next four points capped by a kill by sophomore Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) to take a 15-11 lead. Wing got the visitors back to within two at 19-17, but MIT responded with a 4-0 run, and a kill from senior Nick Gustafson (San Diego, Calif.) put the Engineers up 2-0 on the seventh-ranked team in the country.
 
- Set 3: Wing gave the visitors an 8-5 advantage with back-to-back kills. A Hawks attack error got the Engineers to within two at 12-10, but New Paltz scored the next three points to build a 15-10 advantage. The Engineers hung around but were unable to get the set back to even as New Paltz won the third set 25-20.
 
- Set 4: After a Gustafon kill gave MIT a 9-8 lead, New Paltz scored the next five points before a Rini kill stopped the run and made it a 13-10 set. A 9-1 run from the Hawks gave them a 22-14 lead as they forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-17 win.
 
- Set 5: In a set that featured 11 ties and three lead changes, MIT took a 6-4 lead before the Hawks responded with three-straight points to go up one. The two teams continued to go back and forth before New Paltz ended the match with a 3-0 run to win the set by a 15-12 score.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Gustafson put up a game-high 22 kills followed by 15 from Oliveira.
 
- Junior Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) had a match-high 50 assists while first-year Kevin Windisch (Placentia, Calif.) led MIT with 17 digs.
 
- For the Hawks, Wing had a team-high 19 kills and Kyle Shaffer had 41 assists.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. RIVIER:
 
- Set 1: Junior Jack Roberson (Darien, Conn.) tied the set at 10-all, but the Raiders followed with a 5-2 run to force an MIT timeout. The hosts responded, using a 9-6 run to tie the set at 21. Out of a break, the visitors regained the lead before a kill from Rini tied the teams for the ninth time in the set. First-year Ben Volokh (Studio City, Calif.) gave MIT a 23-22 lead with an ace, but the visitors scored the next three to win the opening set.
 
- Set 2: Trailing 12-9, MIT went on a 4-0 capped by a Gustafson ace to take a 13-12 lead. Chris Lezon tied the match with a kill and the teams went back and forth until the Engineers pulled ahead 21-18 on a kill from Oliveira. The Raiders rallied to pull even and with the match tied at 23, Gustafson gave the Engineers set point with a kill, but the visitors scored the next three points to win set two, 26-24.
 
- Set 3: MIT led wire-to-wire in the third set as the Engineers got off to a 14-9 lead. An MIT error got the visitors to within two (17-15), but MIT held onto the lead as a kill from Oliveira made it a 21-17 set, and the Engineers would go on to win by a score of 25-20.
 
- Set 4: The visitors controlled the final set, leading wire-to-wire. MIT got to within two points (12-10) on a Raiders service error but were unable to tie the set. Gustafson made it a 23-21 set, however, the visitors held on for the 25-22 victory.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Rini led the team with 10 kills followed by Oliveira and Grant Oh with nine.
 
- Sophomore Riley Oh (Irvine, Calif) led MIT with 25 assists while senior Albert Luo (Dallas, Texas) contributed 12.
 
- First-year George Chang (Winter Springs, Fla.) had a team-high seven digs.
 
- Lezon and Isacc Borges led Rivier with 13 kills each.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- The Engineers remain home for a UVC contest against Nazareth College on Friday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m.