Volleyball falls in the first round of nationals
By David Rothstein
The women's volleyball team suffered a disappointing first-round loss in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III tournament Saturday, dropping a three-game match to Ohio Northern University.
The Engineers traveled to Kalamazoo, MI, for their sixth appearance at the national tournament in the last eight years, but fell to Ohio, 15-4, 15-6, 15-13. It marks the third year in a row that MIT has failed to get past the tournament's opening match.
Head coach Karyn Altman '78 pinned the loss on MIT's lack
of experience against national-
caliber teams, along with the Engineers' apparent inability to sustain "evenness of play."
MIT stayed with Ohio Northern in the early goings of the first two games, with both teams siding out often. But the eventual winners took off after initially slow play. The Engineers played their best during the third game, keyed by junior Susie Gardner's hitting, but serving errors cost MIT.
Altman said she would consider adding a tournament to next year's schedule in order
to match MIT against tougher competition.
Prospects for success next year are good, as MIT loses only two starters to graduation (although one of these two is senior setter Debbie Rego).
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