United Volleyball Conference MIT Athletic Communications

MIT Keeps Postseason Hopes Alive With Four-Set Road Win at Elmira

The MIT men's volleyball team kept its UVC Playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 victory  (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18) over Elmira on Friday night from Speidel Gymnasium. Senior Troy Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) led the way for the Engineers with 13 kills in the match. MIT improved to 12-11, 1-4 UVC, while Elmira fell to 12-7, 2-4 UVC.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Set 1: MIT took a 6-2 lead off a kill from sophomore Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.). Elmira chipped away to get to 9-7, but the Engineers scored four of the next six points to take a five-point lead. An Oh kill sparked a 6-2 run to help MIT pull ahead 20-13, and a kill from senior Nick Gustafson (San Diego, Calif.) gave the visitors the 25-18 win.
 
- Set 2: The Soaring Eagles held an 8-6 lead before MIT went on a 4-1 run to take a 10-9 lead. After Elmira tied the set, MIT went on a 6-1 run punctuated by a kill from junior Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) to go up 16-11, and a kill from Oliveira gave the Engineers a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 set two win.
 
- Set 3:  With MIT holding a 5-2 lead, the Soaring Eagles went on a 4-0 run to go up one. The Engineers responded with a 3-0 run to take an 8-6 lead, and from there the teams went back and forth throughout the remainder of the set before Elmira built a 23-19 lead. MIT scored four of the next five to make it a 24-23 set, but the home team held on for the 25-23 win.
 
- Set 4: Elmira used a 3-0 run to tie the set at ten and went on to take a 15-14 lead. MIT went on a 5-1 run to pull ahead 19-16 and finished the match on a 6-0 run to win the set 25-18.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Oliveira added one ace and nine digs with his 13 kills.
 
- Gustafson added 11 kills and 7 block assists while Oh contributed 11 kills.
 
- Junior Phillip Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) led the Engineers with eight block assists and added seven kills.
 
- Turner finished with 12 digs and 45 assists in the match.  
 
- Alberto Mauricio led Elmira with 26 kills.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT wraps up its UVC schedule with a 2:00 pm match against No. 7 NYU on Saturday, April 1 in New York City. The Engineers could secure a playoff spot with a win over the Violets.