Courtesy of Emerson College Sports Information
BOSTON, Mass. – Emerson College hung through
the first two sets, but MIT’s depth and height proved too
much for the Lions as the 13th ranked Engineers took a 30-22,
30-26, 30-16 non-conference men’s volleyball victory at
Emerson’s Brown & Plofker Gym on Tuesday.
The teams traded the first 13 points of the first set as neither
side could muster any type of consistent offense. The Engineers
twice opened a three-point lead only to see Emerson rally and close
to within a single marker.
MIT was able to establish a 16-12 advantage following an attack
error by Emerson. The Engineers then returned the favor, and
following a kill to win back the serve, delivered a service error
to shrink the margin to 17-14. An Emerson service error followed by
a point of a rally and a kill by the Engineers’ Matt
Hohenberger stretched the lead to 20-14. The Lions picked up the
next two points on a kill by Kameron Tarlow and an Engineer attack
error, but the four-point deficit was as close as Emerson would
come, with MIT ultimately taking a 30-22 set.
The second set began in a similar fashion with MIT taking a 10-9
lead on a kill by Patrick Vatterott. Troy Tamas then served three
straight points including an ace to open a 13-9 MIT advantage.
Emerson was able to pull within 15-13 on a block by Frank
O’Sullivan and Jesse Hangen. After an exchange of attack
points, a kill by Tamas, a service ace from Caine Jette, and a
point off a long rally moved the Engineer margin to 19-14.
Following a service error, a kill by MIT’s Mike Demyttenaere
maintained the five-point advantage, but Demyttenaere gave a point
back with a service error and a kill by the Lion’s Tarlow
brought Emerson back to within 20-17. MIT stretched the lead back
to five on attacks by Tamas and Hohenberger, but a service error
followed by an O’Sullivan attack gave the next two points to
the Lions. Emerson was able to pull within two points on three
different occasions, the last at 28-26 on an attack error, but
successful kills by Hohenberger and Tamas concluded the set with a
30-26 final tally.
Emerson opened a 2-0 lead to begin the third set but after a 4-4
deadlock early in the frame, the Engineers took control.
Demyttenaere and Vatterott each had a strong set with four kills
apiece as the Engineers opened up a 24-10 lead and coasted to a
30-16 victory.
Vatterott registered a team-high 13 kills and a .500 hitting
percentage to go along with two blocks. Demyttenaere finished with
11 kills, a .350 hitting performance and two blocks as Hohenberger
compiled seven kills, a .429 hitting percentage, and two aces.
David Thomas contributed seven kills while Tamas picked up a pair
of aces in one set. Eric Reuland paced the defense with seven digs
as Jeremy Velazquez added five of his own. Tim Lee tallied 24
assists, four digs, and three blocks in two sets while Jette dished
out 13 assists in the second stanza. As a team, the Engineers were
flawless on serve receive as they did not surrender an ace in 55
reception attempts.
With the win, MIT moved to 5-1 on the season, while the match was
Emerson’s season opener. The Engineers travel to Southern
Vermont College on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. match. Emerson will
travel to Rivier Tuesday evening for a 7:00 p.m. Great Northeast
Athletic Conference start.