CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Down two sets to none, the No. 16 MIT men's volleyball team rallied to notch a thrilling reverse sweep upset win over No. 8 NYU on Saturday afternoon in Rockwell Cage. In total, the five-set match featured 28 ties and ten lead changes.
This is the first win for the Engineers over the Violets since 2023, when MIT also reverse swept the seventh-ranked Violets on the road.
THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 3, NYU 2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11)
- Records: MIT 15-3 Overall (3-1 UVC), No. 8 NYU 12-4 Overall (1-1 UVC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: The UVC foes remained close in the early portions of the set before a 4-0 run featuring two aces from Colin Zimmerman and capped by a kill from Nate Toth gave the Engineers a 11-6 advantage. MIT continued to lead until Jerry Feng gave the Violets a 20-19 lead with his kill. Braeden Baker put the Engineers back up by one with a kill that made it 22-21, but NYU closed the set on a 4-0 run to take the first set by a 25-21 score.
- Set 2: A 5-0 run gave the visitors an 8-3 advantage as they would hold on to the lead for the remainder of the set. Baker cut the lead to two points at 18-15, but the Violets scored the next four and a kill from Charlie Clifford gave NYU a 25-17 set two win.
- Set 3: The Violets once again got off to a quick start, taking a 5-3 lead, but the Engineers quickly pulled even on a Hansen Fan ace. The teams went back-and-forth before a 3-0 spurt gave MIT some breathing room with a 15-13 lead. The cushion was short lived as back-to-back NYU points pulled the team's even at 15. A 4-1 run capped by a Zimmerman ace gave the hosts a 19-16 lead which they held on for the remainder of the set, winning by a score of 25-20.
- Set 4: Toth gave MIT a 6-4 lead early but once again NYU pulled even and the teams continued to stay within a point of each other until Baker capped a 3-0 run which gave the Engineers a 12-9 lead. MIT did not relinquish the lead the rest of the lead as Fan's kill gave the Engineers a 25-20 win and forced the decisive fifth set.
- Set 5: NYU went up 5-3 on an Evans kill but MIT responded, scoring four straight with an ace from Ryan Espinoza making it a 7-5 Engineer lead. A 4-0 run extended the MIT lead to 12-7 and a kill from Baker secured the reverse sweep win for MIT as the Engineers took the set 15-11.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Zimmerman dished out a career-high 53 assists while also adding three aces, five blocks and nine digs.
- Baker paced the Engineer offense with a career-best 28 kills.
- Toth finished with 14 kills and nine digs.
- Matthew Louis finished with a team-high eight blocks and had five kills.
- Emerson Evans paced NYU with 20 kills with Devyn Nguyen collecting 42 assists.
UP NEXT:
- MIT continues its homestand with a mid-week matchup against Springfield College on Thursday, March 12 at 6:00 PM.
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