NEW YORK, N.Y. – The No. 8 MIT women's volleyball team battled UC Santa Cruz for a 25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18 victory at the NYU Showdown on Friday. Senior
Ella Gragg (Morganton, N.C.) generated 13 kills, six digs, three blocks, and two aces for the Engineers.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 8 MIT 3, UC Santa Cruz 1 (25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18)
- Records: No. 8 MIT (10-0 Overall), UC Santa Cruz (7-8 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: Trailing 7-3, a kill by Gragg sparked an 11-4 run by the Engineers. UC Santa Cruz rattled off four straight points to take a 15-14 lead. MIT quickly went back in front courtesy of a serving error and a kill by junior Ali Gibbs (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and later recorded the final five points to capture a 25-18 win.
- Set 2: Tied at seven, a kill by first-year Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.) kicked off an 8-2 run. The Engineers maintained a comfortable cushion throughout the set as an ace from sophomore Kayleigh May (Camarillo, Calif.) clinched the 25-16 victory.
- Set 3: The Banana Slugs won the first five points en route to a 12-5 advantage. MIT chipped away at the deficit as a hitting error brought it within 13-11. This was as close as it would get as UC Santa Cruz pulled away for the 25-18 win.
- Set 4: Trailing 12-10, a 6-1 burst that was capped by a kill from graduate student Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) put the Engineers ahead for good. MIT maintained a small lead down the stretch, winning 25-18 courtesy of a hitting error.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Gibbs finished with 11 kills and a .500 hitting performance while Rozario posted nine kills, a .438 hitting percentage, and four blocks. Tolstova registered 13 kills as May dished out 48 assists. Senior Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) collected 11 digs and three aces while junior Daphne Gavros (Bel Tiburon, Calif.) produced nine digs and a match-high four aces.
UP NEXT:
- MIT wraps up the NYU Showdown with two matches on Saturday, September 21. The Engineers will play No. 2 Johns Hopkins University at 3:00 PM and then take on the host No. 11 Violets at 5:30 PM.
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