Senior Michael Schulte helped the Ducks advance to the NECVA championship with two wins on Saturday. |
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (March 31, 2007) – The top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology’s men’s volleyball team won two matches on Saturday to advance to the championship match of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Ducks defeated No. 8 seeded Newbury College (30-27, 30-24, 30-22) in the quarterfinal round before recording a 3-0 victory (30-27, 31-29, 32-30) over fourth-seeded D’Youville College in the semifinals. With both victories, the Ducks improved to 30-6 on the season.
In the win over Newbury, Stevens was led by sophomore outside hitter/setter Joe Trinsey (Wilmington, Del.) with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks. Senior middle/outside hitter Scott Stoner (Wantagh, N.Y.) totaled 10 kills and six digs, while sophomore outside hitter Tom Bochicchio (Saint James, N.Y.) chipped in with a team-high 11 digs and nine kills. Junior outside hitter/libero Brian Carlson (West Seneca, N.Y.) was second on the team with 10 digs. Senior setter/outside hitter Michael Schulte (San Bernardino, Calif.) led the team with 45 assists and added three digs and four blocks.
For Newbury, sophomore right-side hitter Bryan McDermand (Palatine, Ill.) led the team with 10 kills and four digs. Senior outside hitter Adam Sweeney (Haverhill, Mass.) led the team with 10 digs, while junior outside hitter Jay Neveu (Riverside, R.I.) totaled 10 kills and two digs. Junior setter Matthew Hartman (Feeding Hills, Mass.) chipped in with 34 assists.
Against D’Youville, Bochicchio led Stevens with 18 kills and 10 digs. Stoner was second on the team with 16 kills and led the team with 16 digs and three blocks. Sophomore middle hitter Andrew Cranford (Bel Air, Md.) totaled nine kills and three blocks. Schulte led the team in assists with 57.
Senior outside hitter John Colosi (Grand Island, N.Y.) led D’Youville with 21 kills and eight digs. Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Clinton Gilliland (Butler, Pa.) totaled 10 kills and one block, while senior libero Chris Flierl (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led the team with 11 digs. Junior setter John Kofmehl (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the team with 36 assists and added six digs.
Stevens will be back in action on Sunday when it faces third-seeded Eastern Mennonite University in the championship match at 1 p.m. Earlier this season, Stevens earned a 3-0 victory over Eastern Mennonite in the Stevens Invitational held on January 28 in Hoboken, N.J.
