Visiting MIT Cruises Past Wellesley Volleyball, 3-0

WELLESLEY, Mass. – MIT senior Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) had a match-high 14 kills as the visiting Engineers rolled to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-11) New England Women's & Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Wellesley College volleyball on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

MIT is now 16-3 overall and a perfect 7-0 in NEWMAC play. Wellesley drops to 11-7 overall and 4-2 in conference matches. 

MIT junior Lisette Tillez (Miami, Fla.) followed Gebhart with 10 kills. The Engineers were strong at the net defensively, as sophomores Carly Staub (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Abby Bertics (La Jolla, Calif.) tallied 4 blocks each and first year Shea Landeene (Phoenix, Ariz.) and senior Jennie Glerum (Redmond, Wash.) recorded three a piece. Senior Tori Wuthrich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) anchored the floor defense for MIT with 15 digs, while sophomore setter Christina Liao (Warren, N.J.) recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs.

Wellesley sophomore Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) led the Blue with five kills. First year Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) and sophomore Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) notched four kills apiece. Junior Alina Mota (Glendora, Calif.) picked up eight digs, and sophomore Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) distributed 16 assists in the loss.

MIT put down a team-best 19 kills in the opening set, en route to a 25-18 victory. The Engineers ran up a 13-6 lead to open the frame and never looked back, eventually taking an 18-9 advantage following a kill from Bertics. Bertics later closed out the set with a kill.

The Engineers followed their 19 kill output in the first set by hitting a match-best .385 in the second set to take a 25-15 victory. The visitors opened on a 13-6 run, capped by an ace from Glerum, before eventually extending their advantage to 20-11. Bertics again put the finishing touch on the set, putting down her third kill of the set to secure the 25-15 win. MIT then opened the third set with a 6-0 run and never trailed en route to a commanding 25-11 set win and a 3-0 match victory. 

Wellesley will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when they host Seven Sisters rival Vassar College at 3:00 PM. MIT will be in action again on Thursday night when they host Colby-Sawyer in non-conference action at 7:00 PM.