CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Following a week-long hiatus, the No. 4 MIT women's volleyball team resumed NEWMAC play with a 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 victory over Wellesley College on Tuesday night in Rockwell Cage. Graduate student
Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) and first-year
Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.) both posted 10 kills and two blocks to lead the Engineers while sophomore Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) powered the Blue with a match-high 21 kills.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 4 MIT 3, Wellesley 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-14)
- Records: No. 4 MIT (18-0 Overall, 6-0 NEWMAC), Wellesley (7-6 Overall, 2-4 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: The opening frame was closely played as there were 10 ties and three lead changes. A serving error along with a block by first-years Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.) and Ella Mancuso (North Andover, Mass.) gave Wellesley an 18-16 edge. Following a brief exchange of points, back-to-back kills by Tolstova kicked off a 6-2 burst that resulted in a 23-21 lead. Giang evened the score with a pair of kills, however, a kill from sophomore Eileen Sadati (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) coupled with a hitting error secured the 25-23 win for the Engineers.
- Set 2: A back-and-forth start to the set featured five ties and two lead changes. The Blue knotted the score at 12 courtesy of a kill by sophomore Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.), however, MIT gradually pulled away, reaching set point at 24-18 on a hitting miscue by the visitors. Another kill from Hill extended the frame, but Tolstova replied with a kill of her own to capture the set.
- Set 3: The Engineers jumped out to a 7-1 advantage, however, Giang responded with three straight kills. This was as close as it would get as MIT went on to record a 25-14 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Sadati finished with eight kills and two blocks as sophomore Kayleigh May (Camarillo, Calif.) tallied 35 assists and eight digs. Senior Ella Gragg (Morganton, N.C.) paced the Engineers with 12 digs and two aces while senior Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) contributed eight digs.
- First-year Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) and sophomore Noelle Win (San Francisco, Calif.) dished out 15 and 13 assists, respectively, as junior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) led all players with 16 digs. Jin, Mancuso, and first-year Logan Wilson (Woodside, Calif.) each notched two blocks for the Blue.
UP NEXT:
- Both teams return to action on Saturday, October 19. MIT will host a tri-match featuring NEWMAC foe WPI and Eastern University at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, respectively. Wellesley will continue conference play with a home match against Clark University at 12:00 PM.
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