NEW YORK, N.Y. – Freshman outside hitter Chris Bock (Orlando, Fla./University) had a match-high 23 kills and sophomore outside hitter Brian Woodworth (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) added 21 kills and 13 digs to lead Stevens Institute of Technology to a 3-2 (30-25, 30-26, 16-30, 27-30, 15-12) win over Eastern Mennonite University in the championship match of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament.
The Ducks earned the NECVA’s bid to the Molten Division III Invitational Championship, the equivalent of the Division III Final Four in men’s volleyball. In the process, Stevens (26-8) extended its winning streak to a school record 14 matches. Eastern Mennonite concludes its season at 15-10.
“It’s been a long road,” said 14th-year head coach Patrick Dorywalski. “But we never lost sight of the goal. I feel very fortunate right now to have 15 gifted and talented players and coaches on this team who deserve all the credit in the world.”
Stevens is making its second appearance in the Molten Invitational Championship. The Ducks served as host of the 2000 tournament. Stevens is joined in this year’s tournament by Springfield (Mass.), La Verne (Calif.) and host Juniata (Pa.). As of April 1, Juniata was ranked first in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Coaches Poll. Springfield was ranked second, La Verne fourth and Stevens 11th. The Ducks will likely move up after beating ninth-ranked Eastern Mennonite.
Stevens got off to a fast start in the NECVA Championship, hitting .407 (14-3-27) in the opening game. The Ducks trailed 7-5, but scored seven of the next eight points to jump ahead. Bock, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, had three kills during that stretch. The Royals never got closer than two points the rest of the way.
The only time Stevens trailed in the second game was 1-0 after Nick Bernardo and Matt Musselman combined on a block for Eastern Mennonite on the opening point. The Ducks scored the next two points via a kill from Bock and an attack error by Bernardo. With a slim 7-6 lead, Stevens scored five of the next six points to open up a five point advantage. Like the first game, the Ducks scored three straight points off the serve of freshman middle hitter Greg Higgins (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West). Eastern Mennonite closed to within 25-23 late in the game, but Bock and Woodworth had consecutive kills to widen the gap.
The Royals came to life and led wire-to-wire in the third game after taking a quick 3-0 lead. Stevens had just eight kills while committing 12 errors (-.143) while Eastern Mennonite was sharp as it hit .423 with 14 kills and just three errors in 26 attempts. Bernardo had four kills as the Royals opened up a 23-9 lead.
Neither team led by more than four points in a competitive fourth game. A block by Higgins and Woodworth gave Stevens a four-point lead, 17-13. But Eastern Mennonite scored five straight points behind the serving of Matt Bahn to jump ahead. A kill by Bock tied the fourth game at 27-27, but the Royals received consecutive kills by Musselman, Geoffrey Sakuda and Derek King to force the deciding fifth game.
Stevens, which is 3-0 in five-game matches this season, never trailed in the fifth game on Sunday. Woodworth’s kill broke a 1-1 tie and senior Scott Mooney (Glendora, Calif./Glendora) followed with a service ace to give the Ducks an early 3-1 lead. Trailing 6-5, the Royals committed five straight miscues (two attack errors, a service error a ball-handling error and a bad set) that pushed the Stevens lead to six points. A block solo by Mooney gave Stevens an 11-5 lead. Eastern Mennonite climbed back to within 13-11 on a block by Bryce Bergey, but Woodworth secured the championship for Stevens with a pair of sideout kills.
Bock and Woodworth were both named to the all-tournament team. Junior setter Gerard Aro (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep) had 51 assists for Stevens. Mooney added six kills, 10 digs and seven total blocks.
