Engineers Go 2-2 at MIT Invitational

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – This past weekend MIT finished in sixth place at the MIT Women’s Volleyball Invitational. The Engineers (11-4) defeated Colby-Sawyer College (25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-13) before falling to Connecticut College (25-22, 25-17, 11-25, 25-14) on Friday. The next day, MIT came back from two sets down to outlast Bowdoin College (16-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-7) before losing to Springfield College (25-18, 25-17, 25-21).

Alex May tallied 15 kills, a .355 hitting percentage, nine digs, and four blocks against Colby-Sawyer. Jenny Li registered nine kills and seven blocks as Barden Cleeland totaled seven kills, a .412 hitting performance, four blocks, and four aces. Katrina Ellison posted eight kills and a .375 hitting percentage while Cecily Joujon-Roche dominated the net with nine blocks. Katie Spielbauer collected 17 digs as Anna Dikina notched 10 digs and three aces. Alyssa Rothman recorded 37 assists and seven digs while Cathy Melnikow chipped in eight digs.

In Friday’s finale with Connecticut College, May paced the Cardinal and Gray with 15 kills to go along with six digs and two blocks. Ellison compiled nine kills and two blocks as Cleeland added seven kills and two blocks. Dikina amassed 17 digs while Spielbauer contributed six of her own. Rothman finished with 39 assists and six digs as Joujon-Roche earned a pair of aces.

In its thrilling come-from-behind win over Bowdoin, May powered MIT with 21 kills, a .450 hitting performance, 21 digs, and four blocks. Cleeland tallied 10 kills, eight digs, and three blocks as Li registered 10 kills and four aces. Spielbauer racked up 19 digs, followed by eight from Ellison and seven from Dikina. Joujon-Roche posted five blocks while Rothman put up 39 assists and three aces.

Trinity Leonard led the way for the Engineers’ attack versus Springfield, totaling 12 kills and a .400 hitting performance. Kelly Schulte registered seven kills on 11-errorless attempts (.636) and two blocks. Joujon-Roche notched five kills and four blocks as Spielbauer notched 13 digs. Rothman tallied 27 assists and nine digs while Dikina finished with eight digs. May recorded three blocks as Cleeland contributed two blocks and two aces.