Men’s Volleyball Wins, Coach Dill Sets Record With 68th Career Win
In his fourth year at the helm of the MIT men’s volleyball program, Head Coach Paul Dill earned his 65th career win following a 30-27, 30-18, 30-25 victory over Baruch College on Friday to become the all-time winningest coach in the history of the program.
Dill is the sixth person at the Institute to earn the distinction of compiling the most wins as the head coach of two teams since he achieved this milestone with the women’s volleyball program in 2005.
The Bearcats (0-9) opened the match with three consecutive points, which were then replicated by the Engineers (7-1). After trading points, Baruch scored four unanswered points before MIT tallied five in a row to take a 10-9 lead.
The Bearcats responded with another four-point spurt and eventually held a 16-15 advantage. The teams played back and forth to a 21 all tie when the Bearcats earned back-to-back points. But behind Philip Rogoz’s serve, the Engineers went ahead, 26-23 and traded points with the Bearcats to secure a 30-27 win.
Nationally-ranked No. 10 MIT raced out to a 7-2 advantage in the second game. Baruch stayed within striking distance for most of the frame as it trailed by five as late as 19-14. A six-point run that was followed by a four-point spree helped power the Engineers to the 30-18 win.
The final frame was much like the first, with 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Baruch established a 10-7 edge which prompted a timeout by MIT. Following the break, the Engineers recorded the next two points. The Bearcats maintained the slim lead as they went ahead, 15-12.
MIT registered three points in a row, but Baruch responded in kind. The Engineers slowly chipped away at the deficit and then took the lead at 24-22. The Bearcats produced the final tie of the match before MIT tallied five unanswered points. Following a service error by the Engineers, a blast by Praveen Pamidimukkala ’08 sealed the match with a 30-25 third game win.
Pamidimukkala notched his second double-double of the week with 21 kills and 10 digs while tallying three aces. Eric R. Reuland ’10 also posted 10 digs to go along with 13 kills as Stephen D. Ray ’08 and Michael Demyttenaere ’10 each recorded six blocks.
Ryan G. Dean ’08 registered eight kills, six blocks, and six assists while Eugene Jang ’09 earned two aces. Philip M. Rogoz ’10 finished the night with 39 assists, nine digs, and three aces.
Greg Waldvogel paced Baruch with 14 kills and 11 digs as Stephen Hansen collected seven kills and seven digs. Radek Wyrwas distributed 10 assists for the Bearcats.
MIT will play against Rivier College tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Rockwell Cage.