CAMBRIDGE Mass. - The No. 20 MIT men's volleyball team split its matches on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage. The Engineers fell to No. 14 St. John Fisher, 3-0 in a UVC match to open the day but rebounded for a 3-0 win over Russell Sage.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- St. John Fisher 3, MIT 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19)
- MIT 3, St. Russell Sage 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15)
- Records: No. 20 MIT (9-5 Overall, 0-1 UVC), No. 14 St. John Fisher (12-1 Overall, 1-0 UVC), Russell Sage (3-12 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. ST. JOHN FISHER
- Set 1: A kill from junior Ryan Espinoza (Los Angeles, Calif.) got the Engineers to 7-6 before the Cardinals used a 3-0 run to build a 9-5 advantage. A 3-0 run pulled MIT back to within one at 14-13, but SJF scored the next five points to take a 19-13 lead, and the Cardinals held on for the 25-19 win.
- Set 2: Back-to-back kills from first year Braeden Baker (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Espinoza cut the St. John Fisher lead to 15-14. The Engineers hung around but could not get any closer as a 5-2 run by the visitors gave them set two, 25-20.
- Set 3: The Engineers built a 7-4 lead before a 6-2 run put the Cardinals in the lead, 10-9. The teams went back-and-forth before SJF used a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage. An ace from senior Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) got MIT back to within one, and Baker pulled the Engineers even at 19 with a kill, however the visitors scored the six points to win the set.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Oh led the Engineers with nine kills and two aces. Espinoza finished with nine kills with Baker adding seven.
- First year Hansen Fan (Center Valley, Pa.) made a team-high five blocks in the match.
- Sophomore Jensen Fiskin (Palm Desert, Calif.) added 14 assists and Kevin Windisch contributed seven digs while Espinoza had six.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. RUSSELL SAGE
- Set 1: Sage pulled to within one of MIT off a kill from junior Sean Pingelski (Clifton Park, N.Y.). MIT scored eight of the next nine points to go up 20-13 and a kill from Oh gave the Engineers set one, 25-18.
- Set 2: MIT used a 6-0 run, capped by a kill from Oh to take an 8-3 lead. Sage chipped away with a kill from freshman John Lindheimer (Albany, N.Y.) making it an 11-10 match in favor of MIT. The Gators continued to hang around but could not overtake MIT as the host held on for a 25-21 win off a kill from Fisken.
- Set 3: A 5-0 run, capped by an Oh kill put MIT up 15-8. Junior Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) then gave the Engineers a 21-12 lead and MIT went on to take the 25-15 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Oh posted a match high 13 kills and 11 digs.
- First year Maddox Brandenburg (Carlsblad, Calif.) contributed eight kills and four blocks.
- Fiskin posted 23 assists.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is back on the court on Friday, February 21 as they head to Vassar for a 5:00 PM UVC contest.
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