The Emerson men’s volleyball team lost to two nationally ranked opponents to begin the 2025 season. Days after losing to No. 19 Nichols, the Lions were swept in their home opener by No. 17 MIT Engineers Tuesday night.
The Engineers rattled off three quick points before junior outside hitter Chase Fagen got the Lions on the board with a kill. Another spike by Fagen brought the game to a 4-3 deficit, but the Engineers controlled the opening set. A one-point lead became 10, 15-5, after an MIT ace. Two kills by senior setter Bryson Beck got the Lions back to single digits, 18-10, but a series of Emerson errors and MIT kills gave the Engineers set No. 1—25-11.
The Lions began the second set with a brief 3-1 lead thanks to kills by Fagen and first-year middle blocker Cash Muse, but the Engineers answered swiftly with four unanswered points. MIT’s scoring run continued, as they took an 18-5 lead after consecutive attack errors by Emerson. An emphatic kill by Beck brought the deficit to 12 before the Engineers dominated the rest of the set, winning 25-9.
Though the Engineers came out strong in the final set, the Lions matched their intensity. Muse blocked an MIT attack to make it a 5-3 game in favor of the visiting team. As the Engineers built up an eight-point lead, the Lions dwindled the deficit to five, 15-10, after a block by Fagen.
Fagen and Muse were the catalysts behind Emerson’s play, as the former recorded his 11th kill of the night to make it a 21-13 MIT lead. Beck set the ball over the net bringing the Lions within six, 23-17. Emerson’s late rally was not enough, however, as an MIT kill gave them set point before an ace crawled over the net for the sweep.
Fagen’s 11 kills led the Lions offense, while Beck tallied five and Muse recorded three. Beck recorded a team-high 12 assists, while Fagen and sophomore outside hitter Stanley Yu had the Lions’ two service aces for the evening.
Head coach Ben Read said the team knew the game would be challenging beforehand, given MIT’s status as a nationally ranked opponent.
“We’ve had a little sickness going through us,” he added. “Guys are not 100 percent [healthy], we had someone that wasn’t here today.”
However, despite the result, Read was pleased with the match’s “upward trend.”
“Obviously, the result isn’t exactly what we were looking for, but the improvement in score was,” he said. “The energy on the court was good. We executed things a little better offensively and defensively. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Fagen said he liked what he saw from his teammates in the third set.
“Through the third set, we got a lot better,” he said. “We tried to focus up more in the third, acknowledge all their mistakes, and try to build upon that. I think our team had so much more energy, the crowd was going crazy, it was good vibes.”
The men’s volleyball team is noticeably smaller compared to years past, holding eight players this season as opposed to 14 last year. Read cited the team’s lack of depth as a challenge toward preparing for opponents.
“We can’t exactly scrimmage six-versus-six, so it’s hard to replicate things we’re going to see in games, let alone what we’re going to see against nationally-ranked teams,” he added. “The improvement we did here was huge.”
Read said the team has tried to overcome this season’s challenges by focusing on reps: “It’s trusting muscle memory, what you’re supposed to be doing on the court.”
Fagen said that defense is one of the team’s strengths early in the season.
“We’re trying to build onto that, and get our offense more into how we play,” he said. “A lot of our guys are tinier, so playing against these guys who are 6’7”, 6’5”, it’s a little tough, but we’re finding ways around that. [We’re] trying to work hard [and] just be as best as we can be.”
The men’s volleyball team’s opening schedule is a “gauntlet,” according to Read, facing three nationally-ranked opponents and a Div. I team in their first four contests.
“I figured, let’s challenge ourselves against some of the best, and hopefully that prepares us later on,” he added.
The Lions will head to Springfield, Mass., to face Div. I American International College on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. GNAC play begins this weekend when the Lions face defending conference champion Wentworth on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 11 a.m.
