NEW YORK, N.Y. – In its opening match at the NYU Mid-September Invitational, the No. 5 MIT women's volleyball team fell to No. 11 Ithaca College, 10-25, 25-22, 25-16, 26-24, on Friday.
Eileen Sadati powered the Engineers with a match-high 17 kills, a .406 hitting effort, and two aces.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 11 Ithaca 3, No. 5 MIT 1 (10-25, 25-22, 25-16, 26-24)
- Records: No. 5 MIT (6-1 Overall); No. 11 Ithaca (6-2 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: MIT raced out to an 8-1 advantage before going on to win the set, 25-10, on a kill by Brennan Fritts.
- Set 2: Ithaca built an 11-5 lead and maintained a small cushion as a kill and an ace thwarted a late rally by the Engineers and secured a 25-22 victory.
- Set 3: The Bombers inched out to a 10-5 lead, but MIT used back-to-back kills by Sabine Smith and a kill by Sadati to stay within striking distance. However, Ithaca capitalized on a serving error which sparked a 7-2 run and created a 17-10 advantage. A brief exchange of points followed until the Bombers put together another 7-2 run that helped them pull away for a 25-16 win.
- Set 4: Ithaca jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but the Engineers battled back, tying the frame at 9-9 on a kill by Smith and then went up 14-12 courtesy of a kill from Sadati. The Bombers countered with five unanswered points; however, MIT stayed close and then used a 4-1 burst to reach set point at 24-23 on a kill by Julia Tolstova. Ithaca then capitalized on a hitting error, a kill, and a block to capture the 26-24 come-from-behind win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Smith finished with 15 kills as Fritts totaled nine kills and eight digs.
- Miller Grimes produced eight kills, a .500 hitting percentage, six digs, and two aces while Kayleigh May generated 47 assists, nine digs, and two aces.
- Tolstova led all players with 12 digs and added two aces as Sophia Song bolstered the defense with 10 digs.
UP NEXT:
- MIT wraps up the NYU Mid-September Invitational with two matches on Saturday, September 19. The Engineers will play Wentworth Institute of Technology at 10:00 AM and then take on the host Violets at 12:15 PM.
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