Men's Volleyball Suffers First Loss of Campaign to #13 MIT, 3-0

THE BASICS:

- Score:
No. 13 MIT 3, Emmanuel 0  (25-14, 25-16, 25-11)

- Records: MIT (3-0), Emmanuel (2-1)

- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (duPont Gym)

- The Lead: The No. 13 MIT men's volleyball team downed visiting Emmanuel College, 3-0, Saturday afternoon at duPont Gymnasium. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- Set 1: After falling behind 3-2 the Engineers scored four-straight points punctuated by a kill from first-year Grant Oh (Irvine, Calif.) to take a 6-3 advantage. MIT used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 22-12 with Oh adding two more kills in the run. After an Emmanuel score made it 22-15, the Engineers scored the next three to take the first set.
 
- Set 2: MIT used an 8-0 run early on to take a quick 10-3 advantage on the serve of sophomore Jack Roberson (Darien, Conn.). The Saints were unable to put together much of a run to cut into the Engineers' lead as a kill from Oh gave MIT the 25-16 win.
 
- Set 3: Leading 6-3, the Engineers extended their lead using a 7-1 run to make it a 13-4 match. MIT put together another run, this time scoring four-straight, capped by a Roberson ace to pull ahead 19-7. After back-to-back kills from junior Dylan Ryan (Oviedo, Fla.) and junior Brett Allen (San Jose, Calif.), sophomore Phillip Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) ended the match with an ace as MIT won the set 25-11.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- The Engineers put together a balanced attack with Oh leading the way with nine kills followed by junior Jack Yurkanin (New Lenon, Ill.) with eight and Johnson with seven.

- EC first year outside hitter Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) shared the match-high lead in kills with nine, adding four digs. Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) played well in the front court with six kills on 11 swings, hitting a team-best .455.
 
- MIT first-year Riley Oh (Irvine, Calif.) finished the match with 15 assists while sophomore Max Turner (Chandler, Ariz.) added 14. Emmanuel setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) dished out a match-high 20 helpers.
 
- Sophomore Nathan Levandoske (Harvey, La.) and senior Tommy Ogeka (Manorville, N.Y.) both finished with five digs while Allen added four.
 
- MIT hit .500 in the match and held the Saints to a .149 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT:

- MIT returns to the court on Wednesday, January 26 for a road contest against Eastern Nazarene College. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Please note no spectators are allowed at the event.
- EC is also back on Wednesday, playing host to Endicott College at 7:00 PM at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium.