Box Score CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite the final two sets being decided by a combined six points and all three by a combined 13, the Keene State College women's volleyball team could not avoid dropping a 3-0 match to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Friday night at the Rockwell Cage in the first of two days at the host Engineers' weekend invitational.
Records
- Keene State: 4-1
- MIT: 5-0
How It Happened
Keene State had bright moments in all three sets, but ultimately did not string enough together while suffering their first loss of the 2021 season. The Owls could not find much offense, hitting only .121 in the match including just .061 in a second set that allowed MIT to take control of the match. Remarkably, the Engineers hit exactly .286 in all three sets.
Cassidy Samuelson paced Keene State with seven kills and hit .313, while
Elizabeth Johnson finished with five in 13 tries (.231 pct.).
Kacie Blanchet finished with 27 assists, eight digs, and a pair of aces, but the Owls could not overcome a minus-14 deficit in kills. Allison Brattley had a match-high nine kills against only two errors (.389 pct.) for MIT. Emily Cheng had 31 assists and Emma Suh 14 digs for the Engineers, who have won at least 20 matches in all 24 seasons under head coach Paul Dill and reached the NCAA regional final in 2017.
The Owls moved out to a very early 4-2 lead in the opening set after kills by Johnson and Samuelson before MIT scored seven of the next ten to take a 9-7 edge of their own. KSC remained within two after another spike by Samuelson and an Engineers' service error, but the hosts then proceeded to go on a 10-3 burst to gain separation and take a 22-13 lead. Keene State used both timeouts during that span, and did force MIT to take one after three consecutive points to make it 22-16, but they were never able to get closer than that margin as MIT took the lead in the match with a 25-18 win.
Another run by the Engineers helped power them in the ensuing frame, as after the Owls nudged in front 7-6, a kill by Annie Bryan was the beginning of six consecutive points by MIT for a 12-7 advantage. It grew to eight (20-12) after consecutive kills by Julia Caravias and eventually nine (22-13) after a swing by Bryan, but Keene State did not go down easily. An MIT error followed by a kill and block by the Owls trimmed the deficit to six, and three consecutive kills before another ball handling error by Adrina Tang had KSC within 23-20, but they could not get any closer. A combined block by Tang and Bryan stopped the surge and, although the Owls answered back, an error had KSC facing a 2-0 deficit in the match.
The third set was back-and-forth with three lead changes in the early going, but a brief 5-1 run gave the Owls some control and a 13-9 lead after kills by
Sydney Johnson and
Sarah Williams to go along with an ace by Blanchet. MIT still trailed by four (16-12) after McLoughlin and
Elizabeth Johnson came through for the Owls, but following a timeout rattled off five of the next six to tie it at 17, pulling even for the first time since it was 8-8. From there was a wild exchange of leads, as KSC went up 18-17 only to see the Engineers put up three straight for a 20-18 edge. Blanchet set up Ashford and
Sydney Johnson as part of three in a row for the Owls to go in front 21-20. MIT put up the next two, but a service error by the Engineers and another ace by Blanchet put KSC back in front just that fast (23-22). However, they could not hold on, as a set full of runs saw MIT put up the last one. An Owl error on the serve tied it before Cheng and Bryan helped account for the next two on a team block and kill/assist as Keene State came up short.
Service Aces
- The two teams have matched up just twice in the past 10 years including tonight, both MIT wins at home. KSC took a 2010 meeting 3-1 at Gordon College.
- Blanchet has 15 service aces in the five matches this year and is racking up the assists in her career with 292 in 10 matches.
Up Next
- The Owls are right back at it tomorrow (Saturday, September 11) against 20th-ranked Bowdoin College (1-1) at 10:30 a.m. and Endicott College (4-1) at 2:30 p.m.
- MIT plays the same two teams in reverse fashion tomorrow (Endicott at 10:30 a.m. and Bowdoin at 2:30 p.m.).
