Men's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match at MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass -- Men's Volleyball was at MIT for a tri-match today January 30th, taking on the Engineers of MIT and Nichols. The Pride would fall to MIT and right their wrongs defeating Nichols in a 5-set thriller, today's results bring Regis' record to 4-3.

Regis vs. MIT

MIT set the tone early, jumping out to a quick lead and never looking back. The Engineers used a strong service run to stretch the score, while their offense stayed efficient throughout the set. Regis showed flashes of hope behind kills from Brandon Valdes and Jalen Watt, but MIT's blocking any momentum. MIT would close the first set comfortably at 25–14

The second set was the most competitive of the first match. Regis responded with improved ball control and stayed neck-and-neck with MIT through several ties late in the set. Key points from Valdes and Eric Alteus helped Regis keep pressure on the Engineers, but MIT would answer at crucial moments. After the score tightened in the final stretch, MIT capitalized on late attacking errors by Regis to escape with a 25–23 win and take a 2–0 match lead.

MIT would regain full control in the third set, opening an early cushion and forcing Regis into tough offensive situations. Nate Toth and Henry Garewal paced the Engineers. Despite efforts from Watt and Valdes, Regis was unable to close the gap as MIT went on multiple scoring runs. The Pride would fall 25–16 to close out the match.

Regis vs. Nichols

In the second match of the day the Pride would look to bounce back but Nichols came out sharp and controlled the opening set from the service line, jumping ahead early and forcing Regis into tough offensive situations. Despite some steady swings from Adam Bonica and John Nangle, Regis struggled to find rhythm against the Nichols block. The Bison extended their lead through the middle of the set and closed it out 25–17 to take the early advantage

The second set turned into a back-and-forth battle. Regis responded with improved ball control and strong serving runs, highlighted by multiple aces in a row from Bonica, helping the Pride push the set well beyond 25 points. Both teams traded points late, but John Nangle would flaunt his veteran experience recording a kill and then an ace to close out this for the Pride 31-29.

The third set would be more of the same back-and-forth we had seen in earlier sets, with neither team really gaining an edge until midway through when the Pride began to slowly build their lead. Costly attack errors by Nichols would be the deciding factor in this third set, allowing Regis to take a 2-1 lead on sets.

Nichols would not go down without a fight though, jumping out to an early lead in the fourth set and not looking back, winning this one in a convincing 25-12 to send this match to its 5th set.

Nichols jumped out early, capitalizing on strong net defense to take control of the set. The middle portion of the set saw both teams trade points, with service errors on each side slowing momentum. After a Nichols timeout, the Pride closed the set strong. Nangle and Betonio delivered key kills down the stretch, while Nichols benefited from late attack errors to push the lead back to five. Regis maintained control to finish the set with a 15–10 advantage.

Inside the Numbers

• Men's volleyball's first game versus MIT was their first ranked opponent of the season.
• Vincent Betonio's 13 kills against Nichols were the most in a match of his career.

Up Next

The Pride continue their away stint taking on Wheaton on Thursday, January 5th at 7PM.