NEW YORK, N.Y. – The No. 8 MIT women's volleyball topped No. 2 Johns Hopkins University, 25-20, 25-19, 15-25, 25-17, and No. 11 NYU, 25-21, 25-22, 25-10, to close out an undefeated weekend at the NYU Showdown on Saturday.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- No. 8 MIT 3, No. 2 Johns Hopkins 1 (25-20, 25-19, 15-25, 25-17)
- No. 8 MIT 3, No. 11 NYU 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-10)
- Records: No. 8 MIT (12-0 Overall), No. 2 Johns Hopkins (10-2 Overall); No. 11 NYU (9-4 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH ONE vs. Johns Hopkins:
- Set 1: Tied at eight, a Johns Hopkins serving error sparked an 8-1 run. MIT held a comfortable lead until the Blue Jays narrowed the gap to 23-20. The Engineers responded with a kill from senior Ella Gragg (Morganton, N.C.) and an ace by sophomore Elise Echarte (Miami Beach, Fla.) to thwart the late rally.
- Set 2: Kills by first-year Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.) sandwiched a pair of Johns Hopkins hitting errors, giving MIT a 19-14 lead. The Blue Jays picked up the next three points, however, the Engineers put together a 5-1 spurt that resulted in set point at 24-18. A kill extended the frame for Johns Hopkins, but Gragg responded with a kill of her own to secure the victory.
- Set 3: The Blue Jays jumped out to a 7-2 lead and maintained a small cushion throughout the set en route to a 25-15 win.
- Set 4: MIT gradually built a 14-9 lead after a kill and an ace by Echarte. John Hopkins stayed close as it came within two points on three occasions, the last at 17-15. Sparked by a kill from Tolstova, the Engineers replied with an 8-2 match-ending run.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Tolstova finished with 15 kills while Gragg produced 12 kills and eight digs. Graduate student Consecrata Rozario and sophomore Eileen Sadati (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) both posted eight kills and notched five and two blocks, respectively.
- Sophomore Kayleigh May (Camarillo, Calif.) dished out 42 assists as senior Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) paced MIT with 15 digs followed by 13 from junior Daphne Gavros (Bel Tiburon, Calif.) and 10 by graduate student Ashley Margetts (Brownsburg, Ind.)
- This was the first meeting between both programs since 2008 and the first time the Engineers have defeated Johns Hopkins since 1986.
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH TWO vs. NYU:
- Set 1: Trailing 16-11, a kill by Rozario ignited a 14-5 run that resulted in a 25-21 win.
- Set 2: NYU built an 18-13 lead, but MIT battled back as a Rozario kill along with back-to-back kills from Tolstova clinched the 25-22 victory.
- Set 3: The Engineers raced out to a 14-5 lead before cruising to a 25-10 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Tolstova led all players with 13 kills, followed by nine from Sadati, eight by Gragg, and seven from Rozario. May distributed 31 assists while Echarte registered a match-high five aces to go along with four blocks. Gavros collected a team-high 11 digs as Personeni produced nine digs and three aces.
- This was MIT's first win against NYU in six meetings.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will open up NEWMAC play on Tuesday, September 24 when it hosts the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at 6:00 PM.
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