BOSTON, Mass. (October 13, 2026) – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranked No. 1 in this week's NCAA Division III NPI ranking and ranked No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III poll, battled its way past Emerson College for a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-17) victory in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball matchup at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium tonight.
Senior setter Kayleigh May engineered the MIT attack that hit .385 with just two errors on the opening set and finished at .269 overall, posting a double-double with 25 assists and a team-high 13 digs, chipping in two kills and two block assists. First year Sabine Smith led the Engineers with a match-high 16 kills and ten digs, adding three assists, while junior Julia Tolstova totaled 12 kills and just two errors for a .345 hitting percentage with 12 digs and three service aces. Junior Sophia Song chipped in with 11 digs, six assists and two aces.
Senior Rachel Dickerson paced Emerson with eight kills and five digs, while junior Sophia Schiappa dished out ten assists with six digs. Senior Lauren Yoo contributed 13 digs, while sophomore Catherine McDonough chipped in with five kills on seven attempts (.714) and a solo block.
MIT trailed late (22-21) in an opening set that included 12 ties and four lead changes but fell back on .385 team hitting with just two errors to secure the set lead. Emerson grabbed the late lead with kills from first year Addie Wooten and Dickerson to force an MIT timeout. The Engineers emerged from the break with two-straight points, including a Tolstova kill, but the Lions answered with a McDonough kill to knot the score at 23-23. Smith followed with a kill and then the Engineers sealed the set win on an Emerson error.
Emerson took advantage of five straight MIT errors to grab an early 5-0 lead in the second set. The Lions maintained the lead until MIT reeled off another late run to grab control of the match. Emerson held a 23-20 lead after an MIT service error, but senior Eileen Sadati got a vital side out and then Song served an ace to force an Emerson timeout.
MIT knotted the score (23-23) out of the timeout with an Emerson attack error, but Dickerson brought the Lions to set point with a kill. After the teams traded errors, MIT closed out the set and grabbed its first lead of the frame with kills from Smith and first year Miller Grimes. Smith paced the Engineers with seven kills in the set, while May dished out nine assists. Dickerson tallied four kills for the Lions in the second set.
MIT closed out its ninth-straight win from there, grabbing a three-point lead after an ace from sophomore Maya Licznerski and Smith and would not trail the remainder of the set. Tolstova led the Engineers attack with five kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while Smith hit .571 with four kills on seven attempts. MIT also served up five aces and recorded three blocks in the frame.
Emerson (13-4, 4-2 NEWMAC) looks to get back on track on Saturday when it visits Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a NEWMAC matchup at 1 p.m. The Lions return to Boylston Street next Tuesday, October 20, to host No. 6/21 Smith College in a NEWMAC match at Brown and Plofker Gym at 7 p.m. MIT (15-1, 5-0 NEWMAC) visits Springfield College on Saturday at noon.
For the latest on Emerson Athletics, follow the Lions via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as well as online at emersonlions.com powered by SIDEARM Sports.
