CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 19 MIT men's volleyball team captured a thrilling five set win over No. 13 Vassar in UVC action and followed with a 3-0 sweep of Emerson on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Cage.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- No. 19 MIT 3, No. 13 Vassar 2 (21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11)
- No. 19 MIT 3, Emerson 0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-17)
- Records: MIT 10-2 Overall (1-0 UVC), Vassar 4-5 Overall (0-1 UVC), Emerson 3-6 Overall
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. VASSAR:
- Set 1: Vassar used a four-point burst to build an 11-7 lead and maintained a small cushion until MIT narrowed the gap to 16-14 on a setting error. A brief exchange of points followed but the Brewers increased their advantage to 21-16 courtesy of a kill. Despite the deficit the Engineers continued to attack, coming within three points on four occasions, the last at 24-21 on kill from Henry Garewal. However, Vassar responded with a kill of its own to thwart the late rally.
- Set 2: The second set was tightly played as there were eight ties and four lead changes. Trailing 20-18, a kill by Garewal sparked a 6-1 run that resulted in set point. A hitting error extended the frame, but MIT secured the 25-22 win on a kill from Braeden Baker.
- Set 3: Vassar claimed seven of the first eight points and held a small lead throughout the set as it went on to post a 25-18 victory.
- Set 4: The back-and-forth play returned in the fourth set as there were three lead changes and eight ties until a pair of hitting errors gave the Engineers a 15-13 edge. The small lead held until the Brewers knotted the score at 19 with a kill. Nate Toth replied with a kill of his own, sparking a 6-1 set-ending run.
- Set 5: The Brewers inched out to a 5-3 lead, but a serving error kicked off a 5-1 run that gave MIT the edge at the changeover. Both teams traded points until two kills and a block put Vassar in front, 10-9. Following their own timeout, the Engineers generated a match-ending 6-1 run that was capped by a block from Alexander Garrett and Matthew Louis.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Baker led all players with 17 kills and five aces to go along with 10 digs while Garewal finished with 14 kills and eight digs.
- Colin Zimmerman tallied 42 assists, 11 digs, and two aces as Louis produced five blocks.
- George Chang collected a match-high 13 digs.
- This was MIT's first victory against Vassar since 2020, which was also a back-and-forth five-set thriller.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. EMERSON:
- Set 1: MIT jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead on an ace from Ryan Espinoza. The Engineers continued to build on their lead as a kill from Hansen Fan made it a 15-6 lead for the hosts. A 6-0 run capped by a kill from Garrett earned MIT the set one win, 25-13.
- Set 2: With Emerson withing one at 5-4, the Engineers used a 9-0 run to build a 10-point advantage as back-to-back kills from Garrett sealed the 25-11 set win.
- Set 3: Garrett gave MIT a 9-3 lead with an ace. Garrett later gave MIT an 11-point lead with a kill that make it 18-7 and a block by Fan and Michael Rini closed the set and gave the Engineers the 25-17 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Garrett led the way with 16 kills followed by Fan with 7 and Espinoza with 6.
- Espinoza also posted a career-high six aces in the match and also collected eight digs.
- Rini led the way with six blocks.
- Jensen Fiskin dished out 17 assists while Nathaniel Black had nine.
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