38
VOlleyball
In 2020, the MIT men’s volleyball team posted a
record of 17-4 and 4-1 in UVC play. The Engineers
notched wins over No. 5 nationally ranked Vassar
College, 3-2, and No. 12 nationally ranked
Milwaukee School of Engineering. MIT finished
the season ranked 13th in the AVCA Division III
national coaches poll.
COLE LINNUS
TODD ELWELL
NICHOLAS GUSTAFSON
NATHAN WANG
Thomas Nelson became the first student-athlete in United
Volleyball Conference (UVC) and program history to be
named as the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year three
times. In addition to his major award, Nelson was joined on
the UVC All-Conference teams by Troy Oliveira and Jack
Yurkanin. (FULL STORY)
For the second time in three seasons, Thomas Nelson earned AVCA
Division III All-America honors. The senior became the sixth studentathlete
in program history to earn All-America accolades and fourth
to take home the honor multiple times. Nelson finished his career
with 805 digs which is tied for fifth all-time in program history and
2.57 digs per set which is third all-time in program history. He also
posted 257 kills and 46 aces in 93 total matches. (FULL STORY)
MIT ranked second in the
UVC with seven studentathletes
selected for All-
Academic Team honors. The
Engineers were led by Jacob
Gasparich and Thomas
Nelson who both earned
their third consecutive UVC
All-Academic Team award in
2020. (FULL STORY)
“One of my favorite experiences as a member
of the men’s volleyball team was our trip to
Chicago my freshman year. We really had an
opportunity to bond as a team and went to so
many cool restaurants and got the chance to
explore the city of Chicago. During this trip we
also played our best volleyball so it was rewarding
to have success while we were also having fun.”
- Tommy Ogeka ‘22
Troy Oliveira was named as the Sports Imports/
AVCA Men’s Division III Volleyball National Player
of the Week in March. He became just the second
student-athlete to earn the honor and first since
Praveen Pamidimukkala ‘08 back on February 5,
2007. (FULL STORY)
“I’ve never been prouder to have a title more
than student-athlete at MIT. You possess the
unique honor of representing MIT on your jersey
in passionate, high-level competitions while
simultaneously immersing yourself in MIT’s toptier
academic resources to learn and grow as a
student. Holding yourself to the highest athletic
and academic standards is what defines an MIT
athlete.” - Nicholas Gustafson ‘23
Todd Elwell enters his fourth season as the MIT men’s volleyball head coach in 2020-21. In three
seasons with the Engineers, Elwell has guided MIT to a 56-22 record and to an appearance in the
UVC playoffs. In his time at MIT, Elwell has led the Engineers to three straight seasons of 15 or more
wins and coached Thomas Nelson ‘20, who became the first student-athlete in program history
and first student-athlete in UVC history to be named the league’s Libero/Defensive Specialist of
the Year three times. (FULL BIO)
“To be an athlete at MIT
means to have a family at MIT.
You’ll always have an outlet
to have fun and relax with
some of your best friends on
and off the court. Being on
the team has made my time
at MIT more enjoyable.” -
Jack Yurkanin ‘23
“I chose to attend to MIT for the obvious
academic reasons, but also because I believe
it was the best fit for me. When I came on all of
my recruiting trips I had a lot of fun, instantly
bonded with the team and just felt at home. What
better way to grow as a person than to become a
student-athlete at MIT.” - Dylan Ryan ‘23