WORCESTER --- The WPI volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday in Harrington Auditorium. The Engineers opened the tri-match by falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) to MIT in a NEWMAC clash, but rebounded to sweep Bridgewater State 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-13) in the nightcap. In the middle match, MIT earned its second sweep of the day, topping the Bears 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-9). 
 
WPI now stands at 6-11 overall, 2-5 in NEWMAC play, while MIT improves to 20-3 overall, 7-1 in conference action. Bridgewater State dips to 2-9 on the season.
 
Match 1 - MIT 3, WPI 0
Visiting MIT out-hit WPI .241 to .140 to earn a three-set sweep in the tri-match opener. The Cambridge Engineers grabbed the win with set scores of 25-19, 25-17, and 25-18.
 
MIT's Claire Underwood (Yorba Linda, CA) led all players with 14 kills, providing the bulk of the offense. Consecrata Rozario (Cary, NC) and Lauren Keller (Albuquerque, NM) added seven kills each, while Emily Cheng (Sunnyvale, CA) tallied 25 assists and four aces. Defensively, Ella Gragg (Morganton, NC) racked up 12 kills with Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, MD) adding 11, and Daphne Gavros (Bel Tiburon, CA) chipping in with 10. 
 
For WPI, Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) led the squad with six kills, with Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) and Audrey Stroupe (Leesburg, VA) each adding five. Reynolds added a team-high 13 assists to complete a double-double. Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) posted a match-best 17 digs, while Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA) rounded out the box score with 10 assists and eight digs. 
 
MIT led early in the first set, but WPI tied the frame four times to keep it close. A 10-2 MIT run pushed them ahead 19-10 and the visitors withstood five straight set-point spoilers from WPI before finally taking set one, 25-19. Set two was tied at 10-10 before a 10-1 gave MIT control. A late 4-1 run closed the gap, but the Cambridge squad pulled out the 25-17 win to go up 2-0. 
In the final set, an 11-3 run midway through the action created enough separation for MIT as the visitors pulled out a 25-18 win to earn the sweep. 
 
Match 2 - MIT 3, Bridgewater State 0
MIT closed out its afternoon with a 3-0 sweep over Bridgewater State in the middle match. The Engineers held the Bears to a negative attack in each of the three sets, finishing with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-9 victory. 
 
Eileen Sadati (San Juan Capistrano, CA) posted nine kills for MIT to lead all players. Elise Echarte (Miami Beach, FL) had eight kills and five blocks, while Peyton Brown (Parker, CO), notched seven kills and four blocks. Kayleigh May (Camarillo, CA) dished out a match-high 25 assists with Gavros tallying match-best totals of 11 digs and five aces. 
 
For Bridgewater State, Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, NH) led the team with six kills and Abigail Reardon(Fairhaven, MA) tallied three. Bethany Votta (Cumberland, RI) dished out nine assists and notched seven digs. Abigail Knight (Berkley, MA) also chipped in with seven digs and Coutu added five. 
 
The Bears scored the first two points of the first set, but MIT responded with an 8-2 run to go up 8-4. Bridgewater kept it close until another extended run, this one 6-1 created more separation, putting the Engineers up 19-9. The Bears closed the gap to six (22-16) with a 6-2 surge, but MIT scored three of the final four to take it 25-17. 
 
The Engineers saw an early 8-5 edge in the second set balloon to 15-6 with a 7-1 run. BSU got no closer than 10 the rest of the way, as MIT went up 2-0 with the 25-11 win. In the final set, MIT's early lead was down to six points before closing the set with a 12-2 run to make it a 25-9 final score. 
 
Match 3 - WPI 3, Bridgewater State 0
WPI swept past Bridgewater State 3-0 to finish out the day with a split. The Engineers hit a stout .277 in the match, holding the Bears to -.037 on offense. 
Reynolds notched 11 assists and five assists, spreading out the offense to Stroupe and Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) with six kills each. Eldridge tallied six assists, six digs, and five kills, while Yazon topped the table with 10 digs. Deckers added six digs in the win with VanDamme adding three aces and a pair of blocks. 
 
For Bridgewater State, Lily Welch (Hanson, MA) tied for match-high honors with six kills, while Reardon added four. Votta had 11 assists and a team-best eight digs, while Coutu and Lilly Misay (New Bedford, MA) each chipped in with five digs. 
 
A tight set one featured six early ties before WPI took control with a 10-1 run to make it 17-9. The Bears got a Welch kill to break up the scoring, but WPI continued to roll, scoring eight of the next 11 to win it 25-13. 
 
The Engineers got off to a hot start in the second, going up 8-3. BSU came all the way back to go up 14-13 on a Votta ace, capping a 9-2 surge. From there, WPI closed the set on a 12-3 run, going up 2-0 in the match with a 25-17 result. The momentum for WPI continued into the third, as they opened with a 12-2 run and never trailed, closing out the sweep with a 25-13 win in the third. 
 
WPI and MIT both have NEWMAC matches on Tuesday, as WPI hosts Mount Holyoke at 7pm and MIT welcomes Wheaton at 6pm. Bridgewater State also plays a conference clash on Tuesday, heading to Fitchburg State at 6pm.