BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Ken Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded 13 kills, five digs, and four aces, while senior David Thomas (Carlsbad, Calif.) added 11 kills, eight digs, and four aces as the ninth-ranked MIT men's volleyball team defeated Wentworth, 3-1, in the season-opening match for both squads.
The opening game was a see-saw battle that featured no team leading by more than three points at any time and a total of nine ties. Wentworth would force the last tie at 16-all; however, the Engineers would score the next nine points to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-16, first set win.
The Leopards jumped out to an early, 7-1 lead in the second game, keyed by a kill and a block from sophomore Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) The Black & Gold would lead by as many as eight on three occasions and would even up the match with a 25-21 triumph.
Wentworth held early leads of 9-5 and 11-8 in the third game and would lead, 18-14. The Engineers mounted a comeback and tied the game at 21-all on a service ace by Thomas, who would then serve the final four points of the game to give the visitors a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead.
Needing a win in the fourth game to keep the match alive, Wentworth took a 3-1 lead in the early stages of the frame. The Engineers scored the next three points to lead, 4-3, before an error tied the game for the Leopards. MIT used a 11-5 spurt to take a 15-9 lead, and, after the Leopards cut the lead to 20-16, the Engineers recorded the final five points to take the match.
Siebert and Thomas also added two blocks apiece for MIT, who also received nine kills from freshman Alex Klein (San Diego, Calif.), nine digs from senior Jeremy Velazquez (Chelmsford, Mass.) , and 27 assists from sophomore Paul Syta (Fairport, N.Y.).
Sophomore Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) paced the Leopards with 13 kills, while freshman Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.) had nine kills and 12 digs. Buonincontra had six kills, four blocks, and seven digs and junior Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had eight digs and 30 assists.
MIT (1-0) is at the Nazareth College Invitational this weekend, while Wentworth (0-1) is also on the road that day, traveling to CCNY and Lehman.
