MIT Volleyball victorious
Team wins Saturday’s Baruch Invitational
The nationally-ranked No. 5 MIT Men’s Volleyball team won the Baruch College Invitational this past weekend with a 3-1 record. On Saturday, the Engineers defeated the No. 12 Bearcats (25-20, 25-20, 25-27, 25-21) but fell to Kean University (26-24, 22-25, 29-27, 25-20). The next day, MIT earned hard-fought victories over No. 15 Emmanuel College (25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 32-30) and No. 7 Stevens Institute of Technology (25-19, 26-24, 18-25, 11-25, 17-15).
In the opener with Baruch, junior Matthew P. Hohenberger led the way with 17 kills and a .448 hitting performance while sophomore Kenneth M. Siebert tallied 14 kills, five digs, and four aces. David R. Thomas ’12 posted 11 kills, a .364 hitting performance, and two blocks as classmate Jeremy J. Velazquez ’12 collected a team-high seven digs. Patrick J. Vatterott ’13 contributed three blocks while Paul M. Syta ’14 compiled 47 assists, six digs, four blocks, and three aces.
In the program’s first meeting with Kean, Siebert totaled 14 kills, six digs, and two blocks as Hohenberger notched nine kills and two aces. Freshman Alexander C. Klein also had nine kills while Vatterott recorded seven kills and five blocks. Velazquez collected 13 digs as Thomas added six of his own. Syta finished with 38 assists, seven blocks, and three aces.
Hohenberger was a force to be reckoned with against Emmanuel as he amassed 21 kills, a .432 hitting percentage, five aces, and three blocks. Siebert followed with 19 kills, 10 digs, and two aces while Thomas registered 11 kills, five blocks, and five digs. Vatterott added to the front row’s dominance with eight kills and seven blocks as Velazquez racked up 15 digs. Senior Daniel C. Sngiem posted eight digs and two aces while Syta tallied 57 assists, 10 digs, six blocks, and two aces.
In the Cardinal and Gray’s thrilling five-set battle with Stevens, Siebert totaled 21 kills, six digs, two aces, and two blocks. Hohenberger notched 13 kills while Klein contributed eight kills and three blocks. Thomas picked up six kills and two blocks as Vatterott tacked on five kills and five blocks. Syta recorded 52 assists, seven digs, and four blocks while Velazquez rounded out the squad with eight digs.
Next up for MIT (13-4) will be a tri-match on Saturday, March 3 in Rockwell Cage against Mount Ida College at 11 a.m. and No. 6 NYU at 3 p.m.