#11 Men’s Volleyball Downs #16 MIT in Five-Set Thriller

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Alem Dubcak's career-high 23 kills led the way as the #11 Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team held off the  #16 MIT Engineers in a top 20 matchup on Thursday night. Dubcak hit .543 with 23 finishes on 35 swings and added eight digs. Eli Turner added 12 kills, including the game-deciding finish in the fifth set, to go with eight digs and two block assists. Brayden Green dished out a career-high 52 assists to go with three digs while Nicolai Bell recorded five blocks and six kills. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Engineers took an early 4-2 lead before the Leopards rattled off six of the next seven points, capped off by Benjamin Mouhgon's kill, to lead 8-5. Wentwroth stayed in front with an ace from Moughon and a kill from Dubcak made it 12-9. Eli Turner's kill late in the set gave the Leopards a four-point edge, before another run stretched the lead to 23-17. MIT answered with four straight points, now only trailing by three. Dubcak's finish and a service error gave the Leopards the 25-22 win in set one.
• The sides exchanged points in the early stages of the second frame as Moughon's finish tied the game at 5-5. MIT went on 4-0 run, forcing the Leopards to call a timeout. Out of the break, Wentworth battled back to make it a 10-8 game. Matthew Louis' kill gave the Engineers an 18-14 lead and Wentworth responded with seven of the next nine points, taking a 21-20 lead. The teams went back-and-forth late in the set with Moughon and an attack error giving Wentworth set point. Conner Foxwell's strong finish secured the set, 25-23, and gave the Leopards a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Dubcak and Nicolai Bell recorded kills to open the third set to give Wentworth a 5-4 edge. Bell added an ace and kills from Turner and Moughon kept the visitors in front. An attack error and an ace Nate Toth got the Engineers on level terms, and the sides exchanged points as the game reached 14-14. Dubcak, Foxwell, and Turner added kills as Wentworth jumped in front by two. MIT battled back to take the lead, but the Leopards made it 20-20 behind Turner's finish. Braeden Baker and Toth scored four in row to give MIT the 24-21 lead. Bell tallied another kill, but Toth's finish gave the Engineers the 25-22 victory in set three.
• Turner and Dubcak recorded kills to open the fourth frame, and the Leopards took a 6-4 lead. MIT burned a timeout after two errors and a Foxwell finish made it 10-7 for the Leopards. The Engineers scored three straight points to tie the game before Wentworth restored their lead at 13-11. MIT rallied to take a 20-17 lead after Maddox Brandenburg's kill. The Engineers went on to take the set 25-19 and send the game to a decisive fifth frame.  
• Bell opened the set with a kill, and two attack errors gave Wentworht a 3-0 lead and MIT called a timeout. Bell, Dubcak, Foxwell, and Moughon recorded kills to give the Leopards an 8-3 lead as the teams switch sides. MIT battled back to make it 8-7 and Wentworth burned a timeout. The teams exchanged points again with a service error giving Wentworth the 12-10 lead and the serve. Turner and Dubcak held off MIT's late rally to give the Leopards the set 16-14 and win the match 3-2.

THE SERIES

• Tonight was the 47^th all-time meeting between the teams.

NEXT UP

• The Leopards visit Emmanuel on Thursday.

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