MIT Men's Volleyball Blanked By No. 15 Endicott

Recap, photo courtesy of MIT

THE BASICS:

- Score: No. 15 Endicott College 3, MIT 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-13)

- Records: MIT (15-8); No. 15 Endicott College (19-3)

- Location: Beverly, Mass. (MacDonald Gymnasium)

- The Lead: The MIT men's volleyball team slid to 15-8 overall as the Engineers fell to No. 15 Endicott College in straight sets by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 in non-conference action on Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- After back-to-back service aces by Bryn Lipton for the Gulls to make the score 12-7, the Engineers slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the score at 21-21 on blocks by Andrew Hall (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Tavish Smith (Laguna Beach, Calif.). The host Gulls, however, scored four of the final five points of the opening set to win it by a 25-22 score. Endicott used four kills and a service ace down the stretch to win the first set.

- MIT took the first three points of the second set on three Endicott errors before the Gulls went on a 9-3 to take a 9-6 lead. The Engineers were able to cut Endicott's lead back to two three different times, but the Gulls maintained their lead as they used kills by Jacob Newman and Jeremy Doski to win the second 25-19.

- The host Gulls put the match away early in the third set as back-to-back kills by Donovan Dey put Endicott up 9-2 early on. Back-to-back errors gave MIT its sixth and seventh points to cut the deficit back to eight, but Endicott used two kills and two MIT errors to win in straight sets and take the third 25-13.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Smith posted a match-high 11 kills for the Engineers, while junior Skyler Kaufman (Needham, Mass.) hit .385 with seven kills of his own.

- MIT junior setter Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) handed out a match-high 23 assists. Defensively, both Dong and classmate Parker Hall (Lomita, Calif.) tallied seven digs apiece. Kaufman and A. Hall both added single solo blocks to the Engineers' efforts.

UP NEXT:

- MIT will close its 2018 campaign with a trip to western Massachusetts on Saturday, April 7 for a tri-match with No. 1 Springfield College and Ramapo College. The Engineers will play Ramapo at 3:00 p.m. before taking on host and top-ranked Springfield at 5:00 p.m.

MIT Men’s Volleyball Falls to Rivier on Senior Night

Recap, photo courtesy of MIT

THE BASICS:

- Score: Rivier University 3, MIT 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19)

- Records: MIT (15-7), Rivier University (22-6) 

- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)

- The Lead: In its home finale, the MIT men's volleyball team fell to Rivier University in a non-conference match, 3-1, by set scores of 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 on Wednesday. Prior to the match, the Engineers honored their two seniors Andrew Hall (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Tavish Smith (Laguna Beach, Calif.) as they played in the final home game of their collegiate careers tonight.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- MIT jumped out to an early 7-3 lead after Hall tallied four kills over a span of five points in the first set. Rivier was able to come back to tie the set at 10-10 and take an 11-10 lead after a block by Cam Roth and Dashaun Graham. Both teams then traded points until the score was even at 19-19, but the Engineers went on a 6-3 set ending run which featured five kills by Smith as MIT took the opening set, 25-22.

- Rivier score the first three points of the second set on three straight kills, but MIT took advantage of some errors by the visitors to tie the score at 4-4. From that point on, the second set was even at 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 before a 4-0 run by Rivier gave the Raiders the largest advantage they would need to even the match at 1-1. MIT was able to cut the deficit back to three after a Rivier service error, but an MIT service error and an attacking error gave the Raiders the second set, 25-20.

- Back-to-back service aces by Smith gave MIT an 11-8 lead in the third set, but a 10-3 run by Rivier capped by a kill from David Smith gave the Raiders the lead back at 18-14. A kill by T. Smith for the Engineers cut the Raiders lead back to two, 18-16, but three straight points put the third set out of reach as Rivier took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-19 third set win.

- Rivier led what proved to the final set from start to finish as the Raiders claimed the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1. The visitors opened the fourth on a 6-2 run and MIT never got any closer than three points the rest of the way. MIT closed the fourth set by outscoring Rivier 5-3, but it wasn't enough as Graham's eighth kill of the night sealed the match for Rivier.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- MIT had three student-athletes with double-digit kills led by Smith with 18. Smith was followed by junior Skyler Kaufman (Needham, Mass.), who had 11 and Hall, who posted ten kills of his own. Junior Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) posted a team-high 35 assists and swung for two kills, while freshman Christopher Cheung (San Diego, Calif.) tallied a team-high eight digs.

- Rivier was led by D. Smith, who had 19 kills on 29 swings offensively, while Garrett Bucklin handed out 55 assists and Roth registered a match-high 17 digs.

- As a team, MIT hit .194 (46-21-129), totaled 41 assists, six service aces, 39 digs and three solo blocks, while Rivier hit .392 (60-13-120), which went along with 57 assists, five service aces, 56 digs and eight block assists.

Sorensen Propels Men’s Volleyball to 3-1 Win over Newbury

Recap, photo courtesy of ENC

QUINCY, Mass.- Senior Kenny Sorensen (Quincy, Mass.) racked up a career-high 30 kills to lead the Eastern Nazarene College men's volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Newbury Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions improve to 9-9 on the season and 4-3 in the New England Collegiate Conference with the win. The Nighthawks fall to 2-13 overall and 1-4 in league play with the loss.

Sorensen's 30 kills and 67 attempts are the highest totals in NCAA Division III this season. He also finished with 12 digs on the day to collect his sixth double-double of the year.

James Hoopes (Lenexa, Kan.) posted 11 kills and seven digs in the match. Andrew Jayne (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with six kills and a team-best 14 digs. Matthew Tyree (Lansdale, Pa.) dished out 53 assists and added nine digs while Brandon Jenkins (Norton, Mass.) recorded 13 digs.

The visitors claimed a 1-0 edge with a 25-22 win in the opening set.

The home side clawed back to prevail 25-22 in the second to knot the match at 1-1.

Eastern Nazarene cruised to a 25-12 victory in the third frame to establish a 2-1 lead.

The Lions triumphed 25-18 in the fourth game to clinch the win.

Joshua Thorne paced Newbury with 11 kills and 13 digs while Oscar Chavez registered 13 digs.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts five-time defending league champion Endicott March 21.

Harvard Men’s Volleyball Downs Princeton in Three on Senior Night

Clemens, Schlossman and Bent were honored before the match (Athletic Communications).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard men's volleyball team topped Princeton in a 3-0 victory Friday night at the Malkin Athletic Center, winning the Ivy League Men's Volleyball Championship. The win came with set scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-18.

Prior to the match, Harvard recognized its three graduating seniors; Branden Clemens, Alec

Springfield Men's Volleyball Earns Second Seed in Upcoming NCAA Championship

Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield College men's volleyball team was awarded the second seed in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship, which will take place April 22-24 at Nazareth's College Shults Center in Rochester, N.Y.. The Pride will square off against the winner of the play-in game between Endicott and Kean.

The Pride, which was ranked second in the country in the latest AVCA Division III National Coaches

Engineers Battle No. 2 Springfield in Three-Set Loss

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – In its final match of the regular season, the MIT men's volleyball team fell to nationally-ranked No. 2 Springfield College, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16, on Tuesday night. Freshman Skyler Kaufman (Needham, Mass.) paced the Engineers' (21-8) balanced attack with nine kills.

Junior Martin Krasuski (Aurora, Ill.) posted seven kills and two blocks as freshman Matt Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) tallied six kills and two aces. Junior Sean Kropp (Fairless Hills, Pa.) bolstered MIT's offense with six kills while senior Brendan Chang (Laytonsville, Md.) collected five digs. Freshman Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) rounded out the squad with 26 assists, six digs, and two blocks.

In the opening set, the Engineers inched out to a 6-2 advantage and maintained a small cushion until

MIT Men's Volleyball Sweeps Lasell, 3-0

AUBURNDALE, Mass. – Following two close sets, MIT jumped out to a big lead in the third set en route to a 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 victory over Lasell College in a non-conference men's volleyball match on Tuesday night. Sophomore Tavish Smith (Laguna Beach, Calif.) led all players with 14 kills while hitting .455 percent as the Engineers improved to 17-5 on the year.

Freshman Skyler Kaufman (Needham, Mass.) tallied eight kills, a .500 hitting performance, two aces, and two blocks while junior Martin Krasuski (Aurora, Ill.) bolstered MIT's balanced attack with six kills. Freshman Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) dished out 34 assists as classmate Matt Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) posted a match-high three blocks. Senior Brendan Chang (Laytonsville, Md.) collected nine digs while junior Suyash Fulay (Wexford, Pa.) registered seven digs and three aces.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair as it featured eight ties and three lead changes. With the score even at 16, a kill by Smith in addition to a Lasell hitting error gave MIT some breathing room. A hitting miscue cut the Lasers' deficit in half but the Engineers gradually inched out to a 24-20 lead courtesy of a Krasuski kill. A kill and an ace kept the hosts alive; however, a serving error gave MIT the win.

The early stages of the second stanza were closely played as there were 10 ties and five lead changes. Knotted at 11, kills from Krasuski and Smith coupled with a pair of hitting errors gave the visitors their largest lead of the frame. Lasell battled back, narrowing the gap to three on three occasions, the last at 23-20. Reilly then accounted for MIT's final two points as he produced a kill and a solo block.
The Cardinal and Gray raced out to a 7-1 advantage in the third set before eventually going up 18-7. Despite the deficit the Lasers continued to attack, trimming their margin to 23-16. The Engineers thwarted the late rally and clinched the match courtesy of kills from sophomore Tom Leech (Meadville, Pa.) and Smith.

MIT continues non-conference play on Thursday, March 10 when it hosts local rival Wentworth Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m.