United Volleyball Conference MIT Athletic Communications

No. 10 MIT Defeated in Five Sets in 2026 NCAA Quarterfinals by No. 5 California Lutheran

MIT finishes 2026 season with a 24-8 record; won first UVC Championship

HOBOKEN, NJ – A historic season came to an end in a thrilling five-set match as the No. 10 MIT men's volleyball team fell to No. 5 California Lutheran in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals at Canva Arena. MIT won the first two sets, 25-20, 27-25 before Cal Lutheran roared back to win the final three sets, 25-20, 25-22, 15-12. MIT had its season end with a 24-8 record.

THE BASICS: 

  • Scores: No. 5 California Lutheran 3, No. 10 MIT 2 (20-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22, 15-12) 
  • Records: No. 10 MIT (24-8 Overall); No. 5 California Lutheran (23-6) 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

  • Set 1: A Nate Toth kill and a service ace from Ryan Espinoza put MIT up 7-3, but Cal Lutheran fired off three-straight points to pull to within one. That is as close as they would get as MIT held on to the lead wire-to-wire with a kill from Henry Garewal giving MIT the 25-20 win. 
  • Set 2: The second set was a back-and-forth affair with CLU using a 4-0 run to pull ahead 14-12. With the Kingsmen leading 21-16, MIT caught fire, scoring five-straight with a kill from Toth tying the match at 21. The teams continued to exchange points before the Engineers used a 3-0 run to take the second set by a 27-25 score. 
  • Set 3: After a service error tied the set at 11, the Kingsmen used a 3-0 spurt with an ace from Brendan Hom giving CLU a 14-11 advantage. Braeden Baker got MIT back to within one with a kill that made it 17-16, but Cal Lutheran held on with a Tyler Linville kill securing the 25-20 win. 
  • Set 4: A Matthew Louis kill and an attack error tied the match at 13 but Cal Lutheran quickly regained the lead as an attack error gave them set point. Two kills from Toth and an attack error cut the CLU lead to 24-22, but an Engineer service error sent the match into a decisive fifth-set. 
  • Set 5: With the Kingsmen holding a 9-5 lead, Toth sparked a 3-0 run with a kill from Baker tying the match at nine. CLU scored two-straight but the Engineers got right back even at 11. After a kill from Garewal tied the set at 12, Cal Lutheran scored the next three to take the set, 15-12 and advance to next week's NCAA Semifinal. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

  • Toth was on fire for MIT as he recorded his second double-double of the year, finishing with 17 kills and 12 digs to go along with four blocks and an ace. 
  • Garewal finished with 14 kills and nine digs while Baker had 13 kills. 
  • Zimmerman put up 54 assists and had seven digs. 
  • Maddox Brandenburg had seven blocks.  
  • Espinoza led MIT with three aces. 
  • Connor Crawford led CLU with 23 kills.