Sports

MATCH OF THE WEEK Men’s Volleyball Defeats Division Rival Rivier in Strong Comeback

Victories over Baruch College and nationally-ranked No. 11 Rivier College helped the No. 13 MIT men’s volleyball team surpass the 20-win mark for the fourth year in a row as its record improved to 21-10. The Engineers held off Baruch (32-30, 30-25, 30-27) and then outlasted Rivier (23-30, 27-30, 31-29, 30-13, 15-13) to reach the milestone. Earlier, Rivier topped Baruch, 36-34, 30-24, 28-30, 30-19.

MIT def. Baruch

Praveen Pamidimukkala ’08 paced MIT with 17 kills to go along with seven blocks, five digs, and two aces. T. Scott Pollom ’09 tallied seven blocks, six kills, five digs, and two aces as Kenneth K. Rosche ’08 contributed 11 kills and three blocks. Michael Demyttenaere ’10 totaled eight kills and five blocks while Garrett L. Winther ’11 notched six kills and four assists. Ryan G. Dean ’08 continued his impressive season with 35 assists, eight digs, and four blocks as Matthew Ng ’08 collected a team-high ten digs. Eugene Jang ’09 bolstered the Engineers’ serving efforts with a pair of aces.

Danial Levent led Baruch (20-11) with 23 kills, 11 digs, three blocks, and an ace. Levi Rachmanov anchored the defense with 14 digs as Jonathan Tuwaidan finished with 10 digs and seven kills. Radu Wyrwas compiled 36 assists, five digs, and an ace.

MIT def. Rivier

In a five-game thriller, the Engineers edged Rivier in the final game 15-13 to avenge an early season loss to their division rivals.

Pamidimukkala registered 22 kills, 13 digs, and three aces as Malcolm K. Bean ’11 posted 19 kills and three blocks. Demyttenaere compiled 13 kills and five blocks while Winther totaled five digs and four blocks. Dean amassed 64 assists and 13 digs as Troy V. Tamas ’10 earned two aces. Jang and Ng rounded out the defense with seven and five digs, respectively.

Zach Hansen recorded a double-double for the Rivier Raiders on 57 assists and 18 digs in addition to five blocks. Kyle O’Neill racked up 20 digs as Scott Wright notched 18 kills. Matt Ferreira posted 16 kills and five blocks while Jared Andreozzi finished with 12 kills and six digs.

Next up for MIT will be a home match against cross-town rival Harvard University on Wednesday, March 19.

Why was this Match of the Week?

MIT delivered when it mattered against division leader Rivier, coming back from two games down. The team squeaked out a 31-29 victory in the third game and a 15-13 win in the decisive fifth game to defeat Rivier.