CAMBRIDGE, MA – The No. 17 MIT men's volleyball team swept past Regis and Nichols in a tri-match on Saturday at Rockwell Cage. The Engineers opened with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-16) win over Regis before closing out the day with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-19) win over Nichols.
THE BASICS:
- Scores: MIT 3, Regis 0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-16); MIT 3, Nichols 0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-19)
- Records: MIT 7-0 Overall, Regis 5-3 Overall, Nichols 3-5 Overall
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. REGIS:
- Set 1: Regis scored back-to-back points after MIT opened a 5-2 lead to start the match. With MIT leading 5-4, a Regis service error gave MIT the momentum it needed to seize control of the opener. Two kills from Braeden Baker and a kill from Nate Toth pushed MIT ahead, 9-4. MIT went on to stretch its lead to 15-8 following a kill from Colin Zimmerman. Another kill from the MIT setter later ended the set with a 25-14 advantage for the Engineers.
- Set 2: The second set was a different story, as the visitors pushed MIT through a back-and-forth frame. A late MIT service error gave Regis a 20-19 lead but MIT scored the next two points on a kill by Henry Garewal and a Regis error, to take a 21-20 lead. The teams played to 21-21 and 22-22 tied before MIT pushed the Pride to the brink following a kill from Alexander Garrett and a Regis error. An MIT service error made the score 24-23, but a big block from Maddox Brandenburg and Colin Zimmerman clinched the set for MIT, 25-23.
- Set 3: MIT scored five of the first six points in the third set and never trailed on the way to closing out the match. Leading 10-6, the Engineers ran off four consecutive points to extend their lead to 14-6. A kill form Ryan Espinoza gave MIT a 20-13 lead before the Engineers closed out the victory, 25-16, on a Regis service error.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- MIT finished with a .303 attack percentage, recording 35 kills on 76 attempts while making just 12 errors.
- Zimmerman tallied 24 assists and a pair of blocks to lead MIT.
- Toth had a match-high 10 digs while Alexander and Kevin Windisch each added five.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NICHOLS:
- Set 1: MIT never trailed in a 25-13 opening set victory. A kill from Toth gave MIT an 8-5 lead in the early going before a kill by Matthew Louis and an ace from Colin Zimmerman stretched the MIT lead to 10-6. The Engineers carried the momentum late into the set, scoring seven straight points to turn a 16-12 advantage into a 23-12 advantage before Toth ended the frame with an ace. MIT was on fire on offense in the opener, hitting .762 as a squad.
- Set 2: Nichols got out to an early 8-6 advantage as they looked to rebound in the second set. However, back-to-back errors from the Bison tied the score, 8-8, before the Engineers seized control of the set. With the match tied at 11, three straight MIT points, punctuated by a kill from Espinoza, put MIT ahead 14-11. MIT would go on to lead 21-15 before closing out the 25-20 win.
- Set 3: The Engineers closed out the final set of their Saturday sweep with a 25-19 victory in the third set against Nichols. MIT never trailed, getting out to a 12-7 lead before Nichols rallied to close the gap to 13-11. Nichols had a match-high seven attack errors in the set while MIT had an attack percentage of .588 to clinch the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- MIT tallied 40 kills on 66 attempts with just four errors in the match, hitting .545 as Baker led the way with 12 kills.
- Zimmerman had 31 more assists and three blocks in the nightcap as he orchestrated the MIT attack.
- MIT tallied nine aces in the match with Toth and Zimmerman each totaling three.
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