Men’s Volleyball Takes Third Place at MIT Invitational

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In the Sixth Annual MIT Men’s Volleyball Invitational, the host Engineers posted a 3-1 ledger en route to a third-place finish out of eight teams. The Cardinal and Gray blanked Bard College (30-19, 30-17, 31-29) before falling to nationally-ranked No. 10 Milwaukee School of Engineering (25-30, 30-20, 30-26, 30-25). On Sunday, MIT bounced back by defeating the College of Mount Saint Vincent (30-10, 30-25, 30-14) and No. 5 Carthage College (28-30, 30-19, 30-25, 30-22). For the second year in a row, Mike Demyttenaere represented the Engineers on the All-Tournament Team. Following its performance this past weekend, MIT improved to 21-7 on the year, marking the program’s sixth consecutive 20-win season.

In their opener versus Bard, the Engineers recorded a team hitting percentage of .447 behind a balanced attack. Demyttenaere posted 10 kills and three blocks as David Thomas notched 10 kills, two blocks, and an ace. Garrett Winther connected on seven of his nine hitting attempts to go along with three digs and one block. Patrick Vatterott contributed eight kills and two blocks while Benson George added four kills and one block in one set. Jeremy Velazquez and Alex Becherer both earned a pair of aces as Troy Tamas chipped in four digs and two aces. Tim Lee tallied 27 assists, five digs, and two aces while Caine Jette dished out 11 assists. Eric Reuland anchored the defense with a team-high 10 digs.

In the nightcap with MSOE, Vatterott powered the front row with 13 kills, a .550 hitting percentage, and eight blocks. Demyttenaere recorded eight blocks and seven kills as Matt Hohenberger racked up 12 kills, five blocks, and an ace. Winther finished with six kills, four blocks, and four digs while Thomas contributed four kills, two blocks, and an ace. Reuland collected 12 digs as Velazquez added six of his own. Lee compiled 36 assists, 10 digs, and four blocks for MIT.

The Engineers featured another balanced offensive performance against Mount Saint Vincent, putting up a team hitting percentage of .465. Hohenberger led the way with 10 kills in addition to five digs and two aces. Demyttenaere notched eight kills on 13-errorless swings plus a trio of blocks and aces. Winther posted seven kills followed by six from George. Becherer chipped in seven digs and six kills while Tamas added five kills and four digs. Jette tallied 23 assists, six digs, and three blocks as Lee registered 18 assists and seven digs.

In the program’s first victory over Carthage, MIT saw four players reach double-digits in kills. Hohenberger paced the squad with 16 kills to go along with three aces and two blocks. Demyttenaere compiled 12 kills and five blocks as Thomas racked up 10 kills and seven blocks. Winther totaled 10 kills, five digs, and four blocks while Vatterott rounded out the front row with eight kills and four blocks. Velazquez and Reuland both collected nine digs as Velazquez earned two aces. Lee amassed 46 assists, nine digs, five kills, and two blocks in the victory.