The women’s volleyball team lost to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but the Lions stayed positive throughout the game.
“They just love to have fun, and we know when we make a mistake, but we don’t have to be on each other about it,” head coach Ben Read said in a post-game interview. “There’s no reason to harp on the mistakes.”
A win in this game would have guaranteed the Lions a playoff spot. Now, the Lions must either win their game against Springfield College on Saturday, Nov. 2 or hope third-seeded MIT defeats Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the fourth-seeded United States Coast Guard Academy defeats Wheaton College.
“We’re going to take the next couple of games and keep improving,” Read said. “The next couple of days will be a little lighter and [we will] focus on a little strategy for Springfield. If we beat Springfield, we will definitely be in the [NEWMAC] tournament. Otherwise, we are waiting to see what happens with a few teams.”
In the first set, neither team held a lead of more than four points. The Lions totaled one more kill and committed one fewer error in their 28-26 set loss. Freshman outside hitter Rebecca Polsky totaled seven points and freshman setter Caroline Bond assisted on 15 plays in the set.
The Lions committed five more errors than the Engineers in the second set and averaged a 0.139 attacking percentage, pushing the Engineers to a 25-21 set win.
In the third set, the Lions trailed by five points and went on a 9-4 run to tie the set at 22-22. An error by the Lions and two kills from the Engineers secured the 25-22 third set win and 3-0 match win for MIT.
Bond totaled 30 assists—increasing her total to 761 this season. Bond also totaled three service aces and 17 digs.
“She played great,” Read said about Bond. “She’s a great all-around player and she’s been focusing more on her defense and it’s shown in these last couple games. She’s really doing it all and we have a few players who could be [NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year] and she’s definitely one of them.”
The Lions will play their final game of the regular season Saturday, Nov. 2 against NEWMAC eighth-seed Springfield College at 1 p.m.
