SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Megan Gebhard recorded a game-best 11 kills to lead the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Engineers move to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Lyons slip to 2-10 and 0-3 in the NEWMAC.
MIT, which saw 11 players record at least one kill, opened the match with a 25-13 first set victory. The Engineers led by as much as 14-2 until Mount Holyoke posted a comeback, as back-to-back kills by junior Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) made it a 19-10 deficit for the Lyons.
Despite the momentum, MIT held strong as kills from four different players, along with a set-ending service ace from first year Clare Farley (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla), gave the visitors the opening round win.
In the second set, the Engineers once again jumped out to a strong lead, going up by a 6-0 margin. A kill by Sweeting late in the set helped make it a 16-9 deficit for the home team, but nine straight points to take the middle frame by a 25-9 margin.
The third set opened tight as Sweeting laid down a kill to cut MIT's lead down to 5-3, but a pair of points swung momentum back in the visitors favor. After a Sweeting kill for 10-7 score (MIT favor), the Lyons couldn't hold back the Engineers offense, which posted six straight points, including a pair of service aces from first year Rachel Parus (Fraser, Mich./International Academy of Macomb) for a 16-7 advantage.
Mount Holyoke, which was plagued by errors late in the set, got a service ace from senior Rebecca Bland (Durham, N.C./Carolina Friends School) and a kill from Sweeting to make it 23-15 MIT, but a kill from Lisette Tellez (Miami, Fla./Ramsom Everglades School) and a receiving error by the Lyons sealed the 25-15 set win and the match victory.
In addition to Gebhard, MIT saw senior Morgan Steward (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) lay down seven kills. Senior Nicole Gagnier (Atlanta, Ga./Our Lady of Mercy) posted a match-high 30 assists, while Tellez recorded a match-high 11 digs.
For Mount Holyoke, Sweeting recorded eight kills and seven digs, while senior Kaleen Iwema (Wadsworth, Ill./Warren Township) had seven digs.
The Lyons return to action on Thursday, traveling to Clark for a 7pm match. MIT is in action on Saturday with a 12pm match at Smith College.
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Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
