CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 13 MIT women's volleyball team kicked off the MIT Invitational by defeating Colby College, 25-16, 25-12, 18-25, 25-23, on Friday night. Graduate student
Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) amassed 18 kills and a .630 hitting performance for the Engineers while sophomore Brady Moseley (San Juan Capo, Calif.) powered the Mules 17 kills and 11 digs.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 13 MIT 3, Colby 1 (25-16, 25-12, 18-25, 25-23)
- Records: No. 13 MIT (4-0 Overall), Colby (1-1 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: Colby capitalized on a pair of errors to narrow the gap to 9-7. A hitting miscue by the visitors sparked a 7-1 run that was capped by a kill from MIT senior Lauren Keller (Albuquerque, N.M.). The Mules battled back as a kill from first-year Cyanne Jones (Pasadena, Calif.) trimmed the deficit to 17-14. This was as close as it would get as a kill by first-year Jennifer Cen (Orlando, Fla.) led to an 8-2 set-ending run by the Engineers.
- Set 2: After a back-and-forth start, MIT gradually built a 13-5 advantage following back-to-back kills by first-year Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.). The Engineers maintained a comfortable cushion en route to a 25-12 win.
- Set 3: Colby jumped out to a 10-3 lead which later grew to 18-9 courtesy of an ace by junior LJ Grant (New York, N.Y.). MIT battled back, coming within four points on two occasions, the last at 20-16 on a kill by Keller. The Mules countered by winning five of the next seven points to capture the victory.
- Set 4: The fourth set was closely played as there were 11 ties and six lead changes. A kill by graduate student Ashley Margetts (Brownsburg, Ind.) gave the Engineers a 17-14 edge, however, three ties and one lead change followed as a kill from junior Sydney Bopp (Austin, Texas) put Colby in front, 21-20. Senior Ella Gragg's kill (Morganton, N.C.) evened the score and then Margetts generated back-to-back kills for the hosts. The Mules used a Grant kill and a hitting error by MIT to tie the score at 23. Another kill by Margetts resulted in match point while a hitting miscue secured the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Keller posted 11 kills and four blocks as Gragg generated 10 digs and eight kills. Sophomore Kayleigh May (Camarillo, Calif.) totaled 46 assists and 11 digs while Cen contributed four blocks and three aces. Senior Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) led all players with 14 digs.
- Sophomore Marjorie Johnson (Spring, Texas) notched nine kills as first-year Ingrid Zahn (Los Angeles, Calif.) chipped in seven kills and two blocks. Sophomore Gabby Grujic (San Rafael, Calif.) dished out 21 assists while Grant and first-year Reese Loyd (Houston, Texas) both recorded 11 digs.
UP NEXT:
- MIT and Colby return to action on Saturday, September 7 with two more matches to close out the MIT Invitational. The Engineers will face Maine Maritime Academy at 11:00 AM followed by Endicott College at 3:00 PM. The Mules, meanwhile, will take on Endicott at 11:00 AM and Maine Maritime at 3:00 PM.
STAY CONNECTED:
