HOBOKEN, N.J. – Freshman outside hitter Eduardo Welter recorded match-highs of 23 kills and 17 digs to lead Division II New Jersey Institute of Technology to a 3-1 (30-27, 27-30, 30-25, 30-27) win over Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday night in a men’s volleyball match at the Canavan Arena.
NJIT (11-10) forced Stevens (24-8) into a season-high 39 attack errors.
The Highlanders trailed 17-12 in the opening game before rallying behind Welter and senior middle blocker Keith Samuel who had three kills apiece down the stretch. NJIT trailed 22-21, but scored four straight points to surge into the lead. Welter and freshman outside hitter Greg Wagner each had a kill while Stevens committed two attack errors. As a team, Stevens hit -.027 (11-12-37) in the opening game.
Stevens turned the tables in the second game. The Ducks trailed 24-21, but scored eight of the next nine points. Senior outside hitter Brian Woodworth (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) had three of the Ducks’ final nine points while sophomore middle hitter Scott Stoner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) had a pair of service aces.
NJIT led nearly the entire way in winning the third game 30-25. The Highlanders erased an early 3-2 deficit with three straight points and never trailed the rest of the game. Stevens got as close as 20-19 on a kill by Stoner, but Welter answered with a kill and NJIT then scored the next two points on his serves to push its lead to four.
With Stevens leading 7-6 in the fourth game, freshman setter Mike Nonnenmann tied the game with a kill and then gave NJIT the lead with four straight service points. The Highlanders led by as many as seven points, 15-8, on a kill by Welter. Stevens closed to within 17-16 on an ace by Woodworth, but the Ducks were never able to recapture the lead.
Woodworth paced Stevens with 20 kills while junior outside hitter Chris Bock (Empangeri, South Africa/University-Fla.) had 12 kills and a team-leading 16 digs.
Stevens is back in action this Friday night when it hosts the Molten Division III Invitational Championship. Play begins at 5 p.m. when Juniata, the top-ranked team in Division III, faces Medaille. Stevens, ranked fifth in Division III, plays fourth-ranked Carthage (Wisc.) at 7 p.m.
