PRIDE HANG TOUGH, BUT FALL IN OPENER TO ENGINEERS

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Freshman Matt Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) amassed 18 kills and a .739 hitting percentage to go along with two aces in MIT's 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory over Regis College in a men's volleyball match on Thursday night. With the win, the Engineers raised their ledger to 4-0 while the Pride fell to 0-1.

MIT raced out to an 8-3 lead in the first set but Regis battled back, narrowing the gap to 15-12 on a service error. The Engineers picked up the next five points courtesy of two kills from sophomore Andrew Hall (Lynnfield, Mass.), a strike by Reilly, and a pair of serving errors. Following its own timeout, the Pride put together a 6-2 spurt as a block by sophomore Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and junior Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) trimmed the deficit to 22-18. The Cardinal and Gray replied by scoring three of the final four points, claiming the win on a kill by freshman Steven Timberman (Merrick, N.Y.).

Regis quickly jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the second stanza; however, MIT continued to attack as a block by sophomore Tom Leech (Meadville, Pa.) and freshman Jacob Gasparich (New Lenox, Ill.) along with a hitting error gave it a 15-14 edge. After a timeout by the visitors, a ball handling error by the Engineers set off an exchange of points that eventually produced five ties. A kill from sophomore Jeff Ramos (Pawtucket, R.I.) put the Pride in front, 22-21, but Reilly evened the score with a kill of his own. After a brief exchange of sideouts, Regis capitalized on a strike by junior Brandon Tordoff (Coventry, R.I.) and a ball handling error to capture the win.

The close play continued into the third set as there were five ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted at nine, a Reilly kill ignited a 10-2 run for the Engineers. MIT maintained the comfortable cushion as it reached set point (24-15) on a hitting error. Back-to-back kills from freshman DJ Lyons (Colorado Springs, Colo.) extended the frame for the Pride but another Reilly hit secured the victory.

Trailing 11-8 in the final frame, Regis converted a hitting error, a Bisnett kill, and a Krahl block to generate the fourth tie of the set. Freshman Aaron Huang (San Jose, Calif.) recorded a kill and an ace while a hitting miscue by the Pride gave MIT some breathing room. Regis stayed close, coming within one on two occasions, the last on a Krahl kill at 16-15. The Engineers responded by going on a 9-1 run to finish off the match.

Freshman Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) tallied 21 assists, eight kills, eight digs, and two blocks for MIT while Huang finished with eight kills, four blocks, and three aces. Hall posted six kills and three blocks as junior Suyash Fulay (Wexford, Pa.) dished out 19 assists. Freshman Parker Hall (Lomita, Calif.) collected 10 digs while Gasparich recorded four blocks.

Bisnett and Lyons both had eight kills to lead the Pride as Bisnett tacked on five digs and four blocks. Ramos totaled seven kills and six digs while Krahl racked up eight blocks and six kills. Sophomore Christopher Fitta (Warwick, R.I.) notched 10 digs as junior Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) earned 28 assists.

Next up for MIT will be a trip to local rival Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Regis returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 28 with a home match against Emmanuel College.

Release Courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Athletic Communications