CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 12 MIT defeated No. 8 seed Wellesley College, 25-19, 25-14, 25-21, in the first round of the NEWMAC Women's Volleyball Championship on Tuesday night in Rockwell Cage.
Sophia Song led all players with a career-high 17 digs and four aces for the Engineers while Kaija Kunze-Hoeg powered the Blue with eight kills and 12 digs.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 12 MIT 3, Wellesley 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-21)
- Records: No. 12 MIT (25-3 Overall); Wellesley (11-14 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: MIT opened the match with eight unanswered points and maintained a comfortable cushion, reaching set point at 24-17 on a kill by Kayleigh May. Wellesley capitalized on a serving error and a kill by Logan Wilson to extend the frame, however, a kill from Ella Zhou thwarted the late rally.
- Set 2: The Engineers won five of the first six points before going on to capture the set, 25-14, on a kill by Eileen Sadati.
- Set 3: A pair of errors gave the Blue a 5-3 edge, but a hitting error sparked an 8-1 run that put MIT ahead for good. Wellesley stayed close as two hitting miscues and a block by Natalie Dabrowski and Ella Mancuso narrowed the gap to 18-16. The Engineers responded with a 6-1 burst as a kill from Claire Underwood resulted in match point. The Blue countered with four unanswered points, trimming the deficit to 24-21. MIT ended the comeback attempt courtesy of another Underwood kill.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Zhou finished with a match-high 10 kills and added 12 digs as Ali Gibbs produced nine kills, two aces, and two blocks.
- Sadati posted eight kills, followed by seven from Underwood.
- May dished out 35 assists while Daphne Gavros generated 15 digs and two aces.
- Dabrowski and Mancuso both notched five kills and five blocks as Else Kunze-Hoeg totaled 20 assists, 12 digs, and two blocks.
- Caroline Meyer paced Wellesley with 16 digs.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will host No. 5 seed U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Championship on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 PM.
- This will be the fifth postseason meeting between both teams and the first since the Engineers swept the Bears in the semifinals of the 2021 NEWMAC Tournament.
STAY CONNECTED:
