Cambridge, MA --- The WPI volleyball team fell in a pair of matches on the road at MIT on Saturday at Rockwell Cage. In the first match, the Worcester Engineers grabbed a set, but could not upset the Cambridge Engineers, as MIT took the match, 3-1 (25-14, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11). In the second match, Eastern topped WPI, 3-0 (25-29, 25-17, 25-22). WPI moves to 5-14 overall, 0-7 in NEWMAC play, while MIT improves to 19-0 (7-0 NEWMAC) and Eastern to 14-5 overall.
 
Match One: MIT 3, WPI 1
MIT dropped only their second set of the year to a NEWMAC opponent, but WPI fell 3-1 to the Cambridge squad to open the day's action. The hosts hit .232 in the match as a team but held WPI to .080 on offense.
 
Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA) led the Worcester Engineers with 11 kills, while contributing eight digs. Emily Hudson (Melrose, MA) tallied seven kills on 12 attempts, hitting a stellar .583. Fiona Gillis (Manchester, NH) chipped in five kills, and Alana Harris (Lowell, MA) added a match-high 14 digs on defense. Preslie Jerebker (Denver, CO) dished out 20 assists and picked up 15 digs, to complete a double-double.
 
MIT was led by standout performances from Ella Gragg (Morganton, NC), who posted a match-high 14 kills and Ali Gibbs (Chagrin Falls, OH), who added eight kills with a .438 hitting percentage. Kayleigh May (Camarillo, CA) distributed the offense with a match-high 41 assists, and Eileen Sadati (San Juan Capistrano, CA) contributed nine kills, hitting an impressive .615 on 13 attempts. Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, MD) anchored the defense with 23 digs, while Gragg also added 12 digs.
 
MIT took an early lead with dominant offensive play from Gragg and Gibbs. The Cambridge squad hit .367, holding WPI to a .034 attack, cruising to a 25-14 victory. WPI still struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the second set, hitting just .026 in the second set, as MIT went up 2-0 with a 25-17 victory.
 
WPI rallied in the third set, turning the tables to hold MIT to their lowest attack (.077) of the match, as the visitors eked out a 25-23 win to close the gap to 2-1. However, in the final set, MIT regained control, hitting a massive .448 as a team to finish it out with a lopsided 25-11 victory to win 3-1.
 
Match Two: Eastern 3, WPI 0
Eastern hit .248, holding WPI to a .047 clip, as the Eagles picked up a 3-0 sweep over the Engineers in the second match of the day.
 
WPI was paced by Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA), who tallied seven kills on 15 attempts, hitting .333. VanDamme also contributed three aces and two blocks, totaling 11 points for the Engineers. Eldridge added 10 assists and three aces, while Jerebker had eight assists. Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) led the defensive effort with 17 digs.
 
Eastern was led by Logan Martin (New Holland, PA), who recorded 12 kills on 21 attempts, hitting .476, while adding two blocks. Bridgette Kelly (Coatesville, PA) added 10 kills on 16 attempts, hitting .563, with three blocks. Elle Jiron-Bujanda (Denver, CO) orchestrated the offense with 33 assists, while adding eight digs. Defensively, Grace Casagrande (Coatesville, PA) anchored the back row with 11 digs, while Trinity Gruber (Landisville, PA) added eight.
 
Both teams struggled offensively in the first set, as Eastern hit .161 and WPI attacked at a negative clip. The Eagles hit .353 in the second set, pulling away late, to take it 25-17. In the final set, WPI kept it close, cutting the Eastern lead to just one (22-21) late, but the Eagles closed it out with a Martin kill to finish the sweep.
 
WPI is back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Mount Holyoke for a 7:00pm match, while MIT also has a NEWMAC clash on Tuesday, heading to Wheaton. Eastern returns home on Wednesday for a Commonwealth match-up, hosting Alvernia at 7:00pm.
 
WPI-MIT Box Score
 
WPI-Eastern (PA) Box Score