March 4, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology men's volleyball team notched game scores of 30-28, 30-17 and 30-28 to notch a 3-0 non-conference victory over host Endicott College on Tuesday night in Beverly, Massachusetts. With the win, MIT improves to 15-8 overall (7-2 NECVA) while Endicott dips to 9-9 (5-3).
MIT broke out to a quick 4-0 lead to begin game one. James Sliva (Monroe, Conn.) finally got the home team on the board as he blocked a Scott Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind.) kill attempt for a hard-earned point. The Gulls were able to fight their way back to even and then grab their first lead of the night as Michael Demyttenaere (Brussels, Belgium) powered a shot past the end line, putting EC up 10-9. The lead proved to be short-lived as MIT's Praveen Pamidimukkala (Edison, N.J.) followed a kill with a strong serving run, pushing the Engineers to an 18-14 advantage. Despite trailing by four, the Gulls rallied to knot the score at 20-all, forcing the visitors to burn a timeout. The see-saw battle continued late into the game as the teams stayed tied at 28. MIT rallied to grab game one's final two points, as they captured the opening game, 30-28.
The Engineers could not be stopped in the second frame, as the visitors opened game two with a 10-6 lead. MIT kept rolling throughout the midpoint of the contest as it capitalized on several Endicott miscues to pull ahead 17-11. Scott Pollom served his squad to a game two victory as he helped lead a charge that put MIT up by as many as 13. The Engineers closed out game two with a 30-17 win.
Endicott returned to the court for game three and was able to fight its way to a 4-3 lead. A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) made sure the Gulls kept the one point advantage, 9-8, as he turned a block on a Scott Pollom kill attempt into a point for the Blue and Green. From there, EC went on a 3-0 run to go up 12-8. The visitors, as they had done all night, tied the score and then grabbed the lead as Pamidimukkala paced an 8-2 run that gave the Engineers a 16-14 advantage. The two point cushion did not last for long as Endicott rallied to regain the lead at 22-21. The Gulls and the Engineers traded points over the next several minutes with the Gulls holding a slight one point lead at 27-26. In the closing moments, MIT got stronger with each point. Michael Demyttenaere notched a kill to even the game at 27-all. Scott Pollom continued his strong night as he found a gap in the back corner of the Gulls' defense, giving the Engineers at 28-27 lead. From there, Praveen Pamidimukkala closed out the Gulls with a kill on the far side, pushing MIT to a 30-28 game three win.
The Engineers were led by Praveen Pamidimukkala's 14 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Kenneth Rosche (Singapore, Singapore) also had 14 kills for the visitors. Scott Pollom ended the night with seven kills, four solo blocks and two aces, while senior Ryan Dean (Valencia, Calif.) handed out 38 assists in the winning effort.
A.J. Witkofsky led the hosts as he compiled 14 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y.) also had a solid game upfront for Endicott, securing 10 kills for the Blue and Green. Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) had 41 assists while Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) had 15 digs in the loss.
MIT returns to action on Thursday evening as it plays host to Southern Vermont in an NECVA New England match-up. Endicott is off until Saturday, when it will host the 12-team invitational tournament March Mania beginning at 1:00 p.m. against the SUNY Institute of Technology.
