BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Southern Vermont men's volleyball team faced growing pains after dropping a lopsided decision to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the top ranked division III teams in the country, 3-0 with sets of 30-9, 30-5, and 30-10 Friday night at the SVC Field House.

As a team the Mountaineers had 8 kills on 67 attacks and 3 assists. They also totaled 24 digs with Ryan Heron leading the way with 8 and Aaron Eschler close behind with 4 digs. Ricky Harrington had 1.5 blocks (also adding 3 kills, 1 dig) with some help from Matt Schwab who assisted Harrington with a block to put a few points on the board for Southern Vermont College.

"I am enthused by how clearly they understand the areas they need to improve," said Head Coach Tim Cole. "I thought we did a nice job in serve receive at times this evening. Anytime you can take care of that first contact you're on the right track. Over time we will be able to increase the pressure that we put on teams with our ball control."

It was a joint effort but the Mountaineers had 6 service errors and could not defend the Engineers serves with 14 reception errors by the SVC passers. Despite the loss Head Coach Cole was excited about his team, "I was really impressed with the locker room after the match the guys had some really insightful things to say about their performance."

With an exciting crowd of 77 gathered to see the Southern Vermont home opener they delivered a great effort.

"We couldn't have asked for a better team to start our season with...the guys got a taste of the best competition we'll see all year."

The Mountaineers are not getting a break as they head out for a Tri-match at Daniel Webster College. They kick off the match facing Wentworth College at 12:00 p.m. and Daniel Webster at 2:00 p.m.

"Tomorrow is a big day for us and the guys are looking forward to more good competition in Wentworth and Daniel Webster."