CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 13 MIT women's volleyball team captured the MIT Invitational title for the first time since 2021 after defeating Maine Maritime Academy (25-19, 25-11, 25-20) and Endicott College (25-23, 25-13, 25-12) on Saturday. Graduate student
Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) was named the Tournament MVP while senior
Lauren Keller (Albuquerque, N.M.) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the second year in a row.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- No. 13 MIT 3, Maine Maritime 0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-20)
- No. 13 MIT 3, Endicott 0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-12)
- Records: No. 13 MIT (6-0 Overall), Maine Maritime (2-2 Overall), Endicott (4-2 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH ONE vs. Maine Maritime:
- Set 1: MIT built a 10-5 lead following a kill by first-year Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.), but Maine Maritime battled back, using an ace to go in front 19-18. The Engineers responded with seven unanswered points as Keller accounted for two kills and two blocks with sophomore Elise Echarte (Miami Beach, Fla.).
- Set 2: Strong serving by sophomore Kayleigh May (Camarillo, Calif.) helped MIT race out to a 7-0 advantage en route to a 25-11 win.
- Set 3: An ace by May gave the Engineers a 12-8 lead as they maintained a small cushion throughout the set. MIT eventually reached match point at 24-19 on a kill by first-year Esma Frieden (Germantown Hill, Ill.), however, a kill by the Mariners extended the frame. The Engineers went on to capture the victory courtesy of another Frieden kill.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Sophomore Peyton Brown (Parker, Colo.) led all players with nine kills while hitting .467 as Rozario recorded eight kills on 11 errorless attempts. May generated 37 assists and four aces while junior Daphne Gavros (Bel Tiburon, Calif.) and senior Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) collected 11 and seven digs, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH TWO vs. Endicott:
- Set 1: MIT built a 12-8 lead and stayed ahead until Endicott put together a 6-2 spurt that resulted in a 22-20 edge. A kill from Rozario along with tough serving by Gavros helped the Engineers reach set point at 24-22. A hitting error kept the Gulls alive, but Rozario replied with a kill to clinch the come-from-behind win.
- Set 2: Tied at eight, a kill by Brown sparked a string of seven straight points as MIT cruised to a 25-13 victory.
- Set 3: The Engineers recorded seven of the first eight points and maintained a comfortable cushion on their way to a 25-12 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Keller finished with a match-high 13 kills and hit. 565 while Rozario posted nine kills and five blocks. Brown registered seven kills as May tallied 33 assists, three blocks, and two aces. Graduate student Ashley Margetts (Brownsburg, Ind.) paced MIT with nine digs, followed by eight from Personeni. Gavros and first-year Sophia Song (Plano, Texas) both added six digs while they notched three and two aces, respectively.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will host Whittier College in the two-day Boston Invite beginning on Friday, September 13 at 6:00 PM.
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