NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's volleyball team was defeated by No. 16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology this morning, 3-0, (25-19, 25-22, 25-19), at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons drop to 2-4 on the season, while the Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, improve to 8-1.
MIT hit .244 for the match, while Wheaton struggled with a -.012 mark. The Engineers doubled up the Lyons with a 10-5 advantage in blocks. MIT overcame 19 service errors on the day.
Wheaton was led by first year outside hitter R. Bennett Chiappetta (Middlefield, Conn.) with nine kills, seven digs and a block. Sophomore outside hitter Connor Lloyd (Swansea, Mass.) swung for six kills, fired an ace, picked up four digs and got up for a block. Sophomore right side hitter Jack Kenyon (Westerly, R.I.) contributed with five kills, two aces, four digs and a block and first year setter Sebastian DeCubellis (Lincoln, R.I.) set for 16 assists, scooped up four digs and got up for a block.
First year outside hitter Alexander Garrett (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) spiked for a match-high 11 kills to lead the Engineers and hit .400 for the match, served for two aces and picked up six digs, while junior middle Michael Rini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) put down six kills to go with five blocks. Junior setter Jensen Fiskin (Palm Desert, Calif.) registered a match-high 17 assists and added two digs and a pair of blocks.
MIT opened the match by winning four of the first five points, including a pair of kills from Garrett, before the Lyons clawed back with three unanswered points to knot the set at 4-4. The teams remained tied at 5-5, before the Engineers reeled off four straight points to take a 9-5 lead. MIT later maintained a 12-8 margin, before Wheaton scored a pair of points to close within 12-10. The Engineers answered with three straight points to increase their advantage to 15-10 and later maintained its margin at 20-15. Lloyd put down a pair of kills to pace a three-point stretch and pull the home team within 20-18, but it was as close as it would get.. The Engineers closed out the set with five of the final six points, including set point on a kill from first year right side hitter Henry Garewal (San Diego, Calif.) to take a 1-0 match lead.
The Lyons took an early 6-4 lead in the middle frame, backed by three kills from Chiappetta. MIT tallied four of the next five points to take an 8-7 edge, before Wheaton reclaimed the lead with a 5-2 burst to make it 12-10. The Lyons maintained an 18-16 lead later in the set, but the Engineers went on a 5-1 run to take the lead for good at 21-19. Lloyd put down a kill to bring Wheaton within one at 23-22, before MIT scored the final two points of the frame to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Engineers jumped out to a 12-7 lead and later increased their advantage to 17-12 for their largest lead of the set. The Lyons ripped off five straight points, including a kill and an ace from first year middle blocker Jackson Colton (Lincoln, R.I.) to cut the difference to 17-16. Wheaton stayed within 19-17, before MIT put together a 6-2 run to close out the set and the match.
The Lyons return to the court to play Endicott College later today at 2:00 p.m., while the Engineers play the same squad at 12:00 p.m. as part of the tri-match.
