FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Williams Athletics Communications
WILIAMSTOWN, Mass. – MIT (28-5) opened the Williamstown, Mass. Regional with a 3-0 win over Rivier University (28-7), 25-22, 25-20, and 25-17.
With the win, the MIT Engineers advance to play tomorrow at 2:30 PM versus the winner of the Regis College versus Bowdoin College game that follows.
Rivier opened up a 9-4 lead in the first set after breaking a four-all tie with five straight points; three of which came off of service aces by Jordan Donohue, forcing MIT coach Paul Dill to call a time out.
The Rivier lead went to 12-5 with five of the first 12 points coming off of service aces.
A Jackie Pisecco kill and a Dana Mott block upped the score to 15-9, Rivier.
"I think it took us a while to settle down and get some the first match jitters out of our system," said MIT head coach Paul Dill. "Once we were able to do that we found ways to get them out of their system."
A kill by Megan Gebhard, a net error on Rivier, and two block errors by Rivier got MIT back in the match down 15-13. Rivier head coach Craig Kolek called time to try and settle down his Raiders.
"I was pleased with our start and I think some of that had to do with us playing nervous last week in our conference tournament," said Kolek. "This is a young team that needs to learn toughness and know that they are going to get blocked and dug and they have to fight through that."
After a block error by Dana Mott the Engineers tied the match at 15 on a kill by Jennie Glerum, but a return by Jordan Donohue and an MIT attack error gave RU another 2-point lead.
MIT took their first lead at 18-17 off kill by Jennie Glerum, but Rivier tied it before Meghan Gebhard made it 19-18 MIT.
Trialing 20-17 MIT got two kills from Jenny Astrachan and one from Meryl Gibbs to knot the score at 20 and then MIT benefitted from an attack error by RU's Molly McCormack to take a 22-20 lead.
RU bounced back to tie at 22 on a kill by Lauren Silverman and an MIT attack error, but the Engineers notched three straight points on two errors by Rivier and a kill from Gebhard.to take set one, 25-22.
MIT opened a 7-1 lead n the second set with four kills by Meghan Gebhard.
Rivier's Lauren Silverman stopped the MIT run at seven with kill and two subsequent errors by MIT got Rivier within three at 8-5, before a service error by Jordan Donohue gave MIT a four-point lead, 9-5.
Consecutive service aces by Jenny Astrachan lifted MIT to a 13-8 lead, but Astrachan lost the serve when she served long.
MIT went up 15-9 on a kill by Meghan Gebhard and then they received a point on a bad set by Rivier, forcing the Raiders to take a time out.
A Jennie Glerum kill boosted MIT to an 18-9 lead, before the Raiders could score on a kill by Jackie Pisecco.
A Dana Mott kill off a mishandled serve and a kill by Lauren Silverman drew the Raiders within five and MIT's Dill called timeout.
"At first we were kind of not playing our game with the whole atmosphere, being in a new gym, and being a little nervous, but then we settled down," noted Gebhard.
MIT's 20th point came off a block error, but Rivier got two points back on net violations by the Engineers, to trail 20-16. A block by Dana Mott and a mishit by MIT made the score 20-18, MIT.
With the score 22-20 the Engineers scored the final three points to claim a 25-20 win and take a 2-0 lead. Jenny Astrachan notched the 23rd point off a kill, Meryl Gibbs added a kill and Allie Davanzo ended the match with a service ace.
Trying to extend their season Rivier opened the third set with a 5-3 lead when setter Emily O'Reilly executed a push over the net instead of a set, but MIT tied it up at 5.
Gebhard broke a 14-all tie with yet another kill and the Engineers went up 17-14 on a service ace by Davanzo, and a mishit by Rivier.
Raiders' head coach Craig Kolek called a time out down three, trying to keep the Rivier season alive by taking the third set.
Jenny Astrachan scored MIT's 18th point on a kill that was tipped and then Meryl Gibbs added her an emphatic kill to make it 19-14.
A Molly McCormack kill got the serve to Rivier, but confusion on defense by Rivier gave MIT a 20-15 lead.
Jenny Astrachan served with MIT up 23-17 and a long hit by Rivier and a failed return of the next serve gave MIT a 25-17 win and the match.
Rivier was led by Lauren Silverman who had 11 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Emily O'Reilly recorded 27 assists, while Bethany Trevino had 13 digs. Jordan Donohue delivered four service aces.
MIT was led by Meghan Gebhard who tallied 17 kills with a .417 hitting percentage. Tori Wuthrich led the Engineers with 11 digs and Nicole Gagnier contributed 32 assists.
The engineers in their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance improved to 15-16 all-time and Rivier making their sixth appearance is now 0-6.