Gebhard Records 1000th Kill as No. 25 MIT Sweeps Wellesley

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT junior Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) became the 11th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 kill mark as she contributed seven kills to a 25-13, 25-13, 26-24 victory over Wellesley College in a NEWMAC women's volleyball match on Tuesday. With the win, the nationally-ranked No. 25 Engineers improved to 18-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play while the Blue's ledger dipped to 7-9 on the season and 4-2 in the NEWMAC.

Sophomore Lisette Tellez (Miami, Fla.) paced MIT's balanced attack with nine kills and collected 12 digs while classmate Alli Davanzo (St. Johns, Fla.) registered nine kills, a .444 hitting performance, and two aces. Freshman Abby Bertics (La Jolla, Calif.) produced eight kills, a .533 hitting percentage, and two aces as junior Tori Wuthrich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) racked up 13 digs.

Freshman Fiona Tanuwidjaja (Renton, Wash.) rounded out the squad with 30 assists and two aces.
Wellesley freshman Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led all players with 13 kills and chipped in six digs while classmate Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) recorded 16 digs and two aces. Junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) notched six kills and five digs as freshman Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) dished out 21 assists. Sophomore Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y.) bolstered the back row with six digs.

In the opening set MIT raced out to a 7-1 lead, which later grew to 21-8 and resulted in a timeout by the visitors. Once action resumed, the Blue picked up five of the next six points as a kill and ace by Reece helped move the score to 22-13. Following their own timeout, the Engineers finished off the frame courtesy of kills by Gebhard, Davanzo, and Tellez.

The Cardinal and Gray slowly established a 13-5 advantage in the second stanza. Wellesley capitalized on a service error in addition to kills from freshman Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) and Reece to stay close; however, MIT responded with a 12-5 run to win the set.

The final frame was a back-and-forth affair as it featured 13 ties and three lead changes. Trailing 22-20, the Blue put together a 4-1 spurt as three kills by Reece, including back-to-back strikes, resulted in set point (24-23) and prompted a timeout by the Engineers. Coming out of the break, MIT secured the victory after a trio of Wellesley hitting miscues.

Next up for the Engineers will be a trip to local rival Emmanuel College on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Blue, meanwhile, has a quick turnaround as it will host Colby-Sawyer College on Wednesday, Oct. 7.