CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The No. 20 MIT men's volleyball team opened the 2025 season with victories over AIC and Emmanuel on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage.
Senior Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) led the way with 30 total kills followed by first year Braeden Baker (Phoenix, Ariz.) with 26.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- MIT 3, AIC 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-21)
- MIT 3, Emmanuel 1 (25-14, 25-23, 18-25, 25-12)
- Records: MIT (2-0 Overall), AIC (1-2 Overall), Emmanuel (1-1 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH ONE VS. AIC
Set 1: The opening frame was a back-and-forth affair as there were seven ties and two lead changes. Knotted at 15, an AIC hitting error sparked a 10-5 set-ending run that was capped by a kill from Grant Oh.
Set 2: After another tight start, a kill by Baker ignited a 12-3 run as a block by sophomore Jensen Fiskin (Palm Desert, Calif.) and first-year Maddox Brandenburg (Carlsbad, Calif.) captured a 25-14 victory for the Engineers.
Set 3: MIT maintained a small lead for the majority of the set and claimed match point at 24-19 courtesy of a Yellow Jackets hitting error. A kill and an ace kept AIC alive, but senior Riley Oh (Irvine, Calif.) thwarted the late rally with a kill of his own to clinch the match.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Grant Oh led all players with 14 kills while hitting .619 and amassing six aces while Riley Oh tallied 24 assists, eight kills, and five digs.
- Baker added eight kills and a .467 hitting performance as Fiskin dished out 11 assists. Brandenburg racked up four blocks while junior Kevin Windisch (Placentia, Calif.) paced MIT with six digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED – MATCH TWO VS. EMMANUEL
Set 1: The Engineers held onto a small lead for the early portions of the set, but a 4-1 run helped MIT pull away 21-13. Sophomore Ryan Espinoza (Los Angeles, Calif.) gave the Engineers the 25-14 win with a service ace.
Set 2: The Saints raced out to an early 5-1 lead and a service from Louis Da Silva (Marseille, France) extended the lead to 15-9. MIT chipped away and a 6-1 run with a kill from Grant Oh brought the Engineers to within one at 17-16. Emmanuel built a 23-19 advantage off a Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) kill, but MIT scored the next six points as back-to-back kills from Grant Oh sealed the 25-23 win.
Set 3: The teams went back-and-forth early in the set before Emmanuel used a 5-1 run to pull ahead 19-13. The Saints held on for the 25-18 win.
Set 4: Grant Oh and Espinoza combined for a 4-0 run that put MIT up 9-4. After an MIT service error, the Engineers ripped off five straight points to build a 14-5 lead. The Saints chipped away at the lead as a 4-0 run cut the MIT advantage to 18-11, but a 7-1 MIT run gave the hosts the 25-12 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Baker led the way with 18 kills followed by Grant Oh with 16 and Espinoza with five. Baker also led the way with three aces.
- Riley Oh handed out 37 assists with Windish dishing out three.
- Windisch and Grant Oh added eight digs each in the match.
UP NEXT:
- MIT returns to the court on Monday, January 20 for a 4:00 PM road match at Endicott.
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