Women’s Volleyball to Meet No. 22 MIT in NCAA Tournament First Round
November 8, 2021

Women’s Volleyball to Meet No. 22 MIT in NCAA Tournament First Round

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

QUINCY, Mass.- Fresh off of clinching its second-straight New England Collegiate Conference championship, the Eastern Nazarene College women's volleyball team drew No. 22 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the NCAA Tournament First Round as the 64-team field was unveiled Monday. The match will be played Friday, November 12 at MIT's Rockwell Cage.

The Lions claimed their second-straight NCAA Tournament bid after downing top-seeded New England College 3-1 in the NECC Tournament finals. Eastern Nazarene sports a 17-10 overall record and has won seven of its last eight matches.

The Engineers boast a 26-3 overall record and earned their 20th NCAA Tournament berth after capturing their seventh NEWMAC championship. MIT is ranked No. 22 in the latest AVCA National Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the NCAA Regional Rankings.

Rookie Eliana Baran (Beaumont, Calif.) leads the team with 316 kills on the year. She swept the NECC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards and earned All-NECC honors while also being selected to the NECC All-Tournament team.

Senior Ruth Aguilar (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) was tabbed to the All-NECC team and was named the NECC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She dished out 606 assists on the season to go with 137 digs, 46 kills, and 43 blocks.

Rookie Emma Graves (Berkshire, N.Y.) garnered All-NECC accolades and earned a spot on the NECC All-Tournament Team. She paced the Lions with 91 total blocks while ranking second on the squad with 295 kills.

Eastern Nazarene and MIT have faced off 41 previous times with the Engineers holding a 27-14 edge. The two teams last squared off in 2014 with MIT prevailing.