BROOKLYN. NY - Trailing two sets to none on the road to No. 7 NYU, the MIT men's volleyball pulled off a thrilling comeback to defeat the Violets in five sets and clinch a spot in the UVC Tournament. The Engineers needed to defeat both Elmira and NYU this weekend to secure a spot in the conference playoffs. With the win, MIT improves to 13-12, 2-4 UVC, while NYU falls to 12-8, 2-4 UVC. 

NYU won the first two sets by identical 25-21 scores, while MIT rallied to win set three, 26-24, fourth set, 25-19 and outlast NYU 20-18 in the fifth and decisive set.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Set 1: After MIT took an 8-7 lead, the Violets went on a 5-0 run to go up 12-8. A service ace from sophomore Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) cut the NYU lead to 17-15, however, the hosts scored the next three to take a five-point advantage. With NYU holding set point, a kill from senior Troy Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) kickstarted a 4-0 Engineer run to make it a 24-21 set, but NYU held on for the 25-21 win.
 
- Set 2: A block from Oliveira and first year Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) tied the match at six, but NYU used a 4-1 run to go up 10-7. Senior Nick Gustafson (San Diego, Calif.) scored four of five points to tie the match at 11. From there, the teams traded the lead before a 3-0 NYU run gave them a 19-16 advantage, and they went on to win set two, 25-21.  
 
- Set 3:  Oh capped a 3-0 run with an ace to put MIT up 8-5. NYU eventually took a 15-14 lead, but a 5-2 Engineer run gave them a 19-17 advantage. Gustafson gave MIT a 23-20 lead with a kill, but NYU scored the next two points to pull to within one. With MIT holding set point, NYU scored tied the match at 24, but back-to-back kills from Oliveira gave MIT the win and kept the Engineers in the match.
 
- Set 4: A 6-0 run capped by a kill from junior Phillip Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) put MIT up 12-7, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. NYU went on a 3-0 run to make the score 24-19, but Gustafson sent the teams to a decisive fifth set with a kill.
 
- Set 5: In thrilling back-and-forth action, neither team was able to gain control of the set that featured 17 ties and three lead changes. MIT scored three unanswered to take a 7-6 lead, but NUY quickly responded to tie the set. Two consecutive kills from Oliveira gave the Engineers a 14-13 lead, but once again, the Violets came back to tie the set. Eventually, MIT prevailed as a kill from Gustafson followed by an NYU error gave MIT the thrilling come-from-behind win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
-  Gustafson had a career-high 27 kills in the match and hit .457 with five digs.
 
- Oliveira finished with 15 kills, 10 digs, and four blocks and Oh added 10 kills and nine digs.
 
- Junior Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) has a career-best 57 assists in the match.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- The Engineers return to Rockwell Cage on Wednesday, April 5 when they will host Eastern Nazarene for a 7:00 p.m. contest.