WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark University volleyball (1-24, 0-11 NEWMAC) hosted nationally ranked MIT (24-3, 11-0 NEWMAC) in both teams' regular-season finale. The 13th-ranked Engineers stayed perfect in conference play, securing the win in straight sets 25-10, 25-14, 25-14.
How it Happened
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The Engineers secured the first six points to start the game before a bad set and a kill by junior Winifred Gakidis made it 7-2.
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MIT continued their strong performance, taking seven of the next eight points before a kill by sophomore Isabella Alcott and a block by junior Katelyn Williams and sophomore Abigail Venis made it 14-5.
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After another six-point run by the Engineers, Clark gained some momentum behind two quick kills from Gakidis, but the spark ended there as MIT secured set one 25-10.
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A kill from junior Harper Chinn opened the second set, but MIT responded by securing seven of the next nine points to take a 7-3 advantage.
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Gakidis, Alcott, and Venis tallied kills to cut the deficit to two, but a four-point run extended the lead back to six.
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The Engineers pulled away from there, with late kills by Chinn and a block by graduate student Isabella Smith adding points for the Cougars, who ultimately fell 25-14 in the second set.
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Smith and Alcott found early kills in the third set, but MIT continued their strong play to take a 10-4 advantage.
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Williams picked up a kill to stop the run, but another surge by the Engineers gave them a 16-6 edge.
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Clark went on a four-point run of their own, highlighted by a service ace from Chinn, a kill from Alcott, and a block by Gakidis and Smith.
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Venis tallied three late kills, but MIT closed it out to take the final set, and the match, 25-14.
Inside the Box Score
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The Cougars tallied 18 kills on 18 assists, adding a service ace, 49 digs, and three blocks.
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Senior Yumeng Liu recorded 19 digs in the effort, ending her career with 1,256 digs — the sixth-most in program history — while averaging 3.6 digs per set. She also totaled 80 service aces and 217 assists in her career.
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Graduate student Isabella Smith made the most of her year at Clark, recording 57 kills and 42 digs this season.
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Junior Winifred Gakidis led the way with five kills, finishing her season with 60. She also finished second on the team with 37 blocks.
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Sophomore Isabella Alcott added four kills, closing the year as the team leader with 212 kills.
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Sophomore Abigail Venis tied her career high with four kills, bringing her season total to 54. She also led the team with 39 blocks.
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Junior Harper Chinn finished second on the team in both kills (126) and digs (188).
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Junior Julia Dopazo dished out a team-high 13 assists, finishing the season as the team leader with 274 total assists.
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Sophomore Hannah Harrington added five assists in the match, ending the season second on the team with 180 assists.