HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 27, 2008) – The fifth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team went 2-2 in the 11th annual Stevens Invitational this past weekend at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken N.J. The Ducks earned second-place as No. 9 Nazareth College was crowned the tournament champions with its flawless 4-0 performance. No. 4 Carthage College went 2-1 and placed third overall as No. 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology took fourth with its 1-2 showing. Hunter College and Baruch College played for fifth-place as the Hawks (1-2) came away victorious, while the Bearcats dropped all three matches.
Saturday January 26, 2008
Match 1 – Nazareth d. Baruch (30-23, 30-17, 27-30, 29-31, 15-12)
Down two games to none, Baruch battled back to force a fifth and deciding game. The Bearcats were ahead 8-7 before the switch, however No. 9 Nazareth went on a 5-0 run as the score read 12-8 in favor of the Golden Flyers. The deficit was too large for Baruch as Nazareth won 15-12.
The Bearcats were led by junior middle hitter Danial Levent (Forest Hills, N.Y.), who registered 26 kills, 10 digs and totaled four blocks. Sophomore setter Radu Wyrwas (Bialystok, Poland) finished with 39 assists, nine digs and a pair of blocks.
Junior opposite hitter Chris DeHority (Rochester, N.Y.) had a team-high 28 kills and posted 10 digs for Nazareth. Senior outside hitter Adam DiCicco (Seneca Castle, N.Y.) recorded 22 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore setter Kevin Kirchoff (Penfield, N.Y.) dished for 51 assists.
Match 2 – MIT d. Hunter (30-26, 30-27, 30-24)
The seventh-ranked Engineers of MIT took down the Hawks of Hunter in a three game sweep by the scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-24 in the second match of the Stevens Invite.
MIT was led by senior outside hitter Praveen Pamidimukkala (Edison, N.J.), who recorded 15 kills, four blocks and three service aces. Junior middle hitter Scott Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 11 kills and totaled five blocks, while sophomore setter Philip Rogoz (Lincolnwood, Ill.) notched 39 assists. Freshman outside hitter Malcolm Bean (Rochester, N.Y.) and sophomore middle hitter Mike Demyttenaere (Brussels, Belgium) each posted eight kills in the victory.
Freshman outside hitter Pablo Oliveira (Uberlandia, Brazil) led in kills with 20 and registered seven digs for the Hawks. Sophomore outside hitter Wojciech Jakubiak (Poland) totaled 11 kills and seven digs as sophomore setter Zacarias Ripoll (Puerto Plata, D.R.) added 37 assists in the defeat.
Match 3 – Stevens d. Baruch (30-22, 30-25, 30-25)
The fifth-seeded Ducks swept the Bearcats in three straight games. Junior outside hitter Joe Trinsey had a team-high 11 kills with four digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Landis had eight kills, while freshman setter Brandt Grobeis dished for 40 assists and one service ace. Junior middle hitter Doug Reger led in total blocks with six as junior outside hitter Tomas Bochicchio finished with seven kills.
In its second match of the evening, the Bearcats suffered its second loss as junior middle hitter Levent led with 12 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Tuwaidan (Woodside, N.Y.) registered nine kills, while Wyrwas added 29 assists. Junior outside hitter Eric Quintero (New York, N.Y.) totaled five kills, five total blocks and a pair of aces.
Match 4 – Carthage d. MIT (30-32, 28-30, 30-26, 30-28, 15-6)
After falling behind two games, the fourth-ranked Redmen battled back to force a fifth game as they went on to win 15-6. Carthage was led by freshman middle blocker Tim Walker (Milwaukee, Wis.), who totaled 16 kills, three service aces and a pair of blocks. Junior opposite hitter Juri Veldre (West Allis, Wis.) had 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Allan Russo (Bridgeview, Ill.) added 16 kills. Sophomore setter Matt Figiel (Franklin Park, Ill) posted 57 assists as freshmen libero Tyler Berry (St. Louis, Mo.) chipped in with 16 digs. *Stats from 4 out of the 5 games*
No. 7 MIT was led by Pamidimukkala who notched 21 kills and eight digs. Demyttenaere had 13 kills and four total blocks, while Bean recorded 10 kills. Freshman opposite hitter Garrett Winther (Broomfield, Colo.) accumulated 10 kills and four blocks as Rogoz amassed 56 assists, 14 digs and a pair of aces.
Match 5 – Nazareth d. Stevens (30-28, 30-27, 18-30, 26-30, 15-12)
Trailing two games, No. 5 Stevens came from behind to force a fifth game however fell short of a victory as it couldn't close on a three point deficit that the ninth-ranked Golden Flyers held. Nazareth was led by senior Kellen Gambeski (St. James, N.Y.), who posted 16 kills and seven total blocks. Senior outside hitter Tom Maving (Tonawanda, N.Y.) recorded 13 kills and five digs, while junior outside hitter Joe Petzoldt (Phelps, N.Y.) notched 12 kills. Junior setter Frank Leahy (Smithtown, N.Y.) dished for 53 assists as senior outside hitter DiCicco had a strong defensive performance with 12 digs.
For the Ducks, Bochicchio totaled 24 kills and 12 digs as Grobeis landed 57 assists in the defeat. Landis registered 21 kills and eight digs, while Reger had 10 kills and seven blocks. Junior middle hitter Andrew Cranford chipped in with eight kills and three blocks.
Match 6 – Carthage d. Hunter (29-31, 30-20, 30-19, 30-18)
No. 4 Carthage was led by Russo who notched 21 kills and 20 digs in the four game win over the Hawks. Sophomore outside hitter Andy Patton (Wauwatosa, Wis.) recorded 15 kills, while Walker totaled 19 kills. Veldre finished with 20 kills as Berry led in digs with 28. Junior setter Joe Dougherty (New Lenox, Ill.) accumulated 54 assists as Figiel added 38 in the victory.
Hunter was led by Oliveira who registered 11 kills. Jukubiak totaled nine digs, while Ripoll added 28 assists and 10 digs in the defeat.
Sunday January 27, 2008
Semifinal Match – Stevens d. Carthage (23-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-22)
The Ducks jumped ahead in Game 1 with two consecutive service aces by Grobeis. No. 5 Stevens held an 18-14 advantage however the fourth-ranked Redmen battled back as they went on a 16-5 run shutting down the Ducks offense and going ahead one game to none. However Stevens saw new life as they went on to win three straight and advance to the championship round.
The Ducks were led by Bochicchio who totaled 15 kills, 11 digs and a pair of aces. Reger and Trinsey each posted eight kills apiece, as Reger added five blocks and Trinsey with four. Cranford registered 13 kills and three blocks, while Grobeis dished for 50 assists and landed three aces.
Walker led in kills with a team-high of nine, while Dougherty totaled 13 assists and a pair of blocks. Russo had six kills and seven digs as Berry chipped in with 13 digs. Figiel recorded 27 assists and four digs, while sophomore middle blocker Chris Allen (Basking Ridge, N.J.) added six kills in the defeat.
Semifinal Match – Nazareth d. MIT (24-30, 30-25, 30-21, 30-26)
The seventh-ranked Engineers got one game off the No. 9 Golden Flyers before Nazareth went on a three game win streak as they face No. 5 Stevens in the championship match. MIT was led by Pamidimukkala who accumulated 18 kills and 11 digs. Bean had 13 kills, while senior opposite hitter Ryan Dean (Valencia Calif.) had a strong defensive performance with his 14 digs. Lee had a team-high 29 assists as Demyttenaere chipped in with four total locks.
Nazareth was led by Gambeski who notched 10 kills and 10 digs. Maving registered 17 kills and eight digs as Leahy dished for 45 assists in the victory.
Consolation Match – Hunter d. Baruch (30-23, 30-25, 30-24)
The Hawks came out firing after dropping two matches in Day 1 of the Stevens Invitational. Hunter took down the Bearcats in three-straight games. The Hawks were led by Oliverira who totaled 17 kills and seven digs. Ripoll had a team-high 41 assists as he posted six kills and eight digs. Jakubiak tallied 12 kills, three digs and an ace in the victory.
Baruch fell in all three games during its performance at the tournament. Against the Hawks, Levent led the way having posted 16 kills and seven digs. Tuwaidan followed with eight kills as freshman middle blocker Jan Wojdat (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) recorded five kills and four total blocks. Junior libero Levi Rachmanov (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) accumulated seven digs, while Wyrwas had 38 assists and eight digs.
Championship Match – Nazareth d. Stevens (31-29, 30-25, 25-30, 30-27)
In Game 1 of the championship match the Ducks jumped out to a 5-2 lead from a strong offensive attack led by sophomore outside hitter Stefan PremDas, who posted a pair of kills. From then on it went back and forth until Nazareth pulled ahead 28-26 as Stevens was forced to call a timeout. Kills from Bochicchio, Trinsey and Landis put the Ducks on top 29-28 as the Golden Flyers took a timeout to talk things over. DiCicco came out strong with a kill as Maving finished things off with a kill of his own allowing Nazareth to grab a one game advantage.
After falling behind early in Game 2, the Ducks had a hard time responding as they were never able to close on a four point lead that Nazareth sustained throughout the game. However in Game 3 the Ducks saw new light as they jumped ahead 17-10 by a powerful attack led by Trinsey, Bochicchio and Reger who each recorded a pair of kills. As Stevens led 22-15 the deficit was too large for Nazareth to come back from as the game ended by the score of 30-25 in favor of Stevens.
With the possibility of another five-game match, the Ducks needed to first secure a win in Game 4. It started off neck and neck as each time swapped points till the score read 11-all. From then on it was the Golden Flyers all the way as the Ducks could not close on a four point lead. Nevertheless, Stevens would not back down as they fought to pull within two points as the score was now 25-27 with Nazareth calling a timeout. A block by Cranford and PremDas closed the gap to one point however some miscommunication on an attempted middle attack allowed the Golden Flyers to set up their offense on a free ball. Gambeski took advantage as he landed a kill, giving Nazareth the ball for match point. A service ace by Leahy off of a return error on junior libero Michael Ozols gave the Golden Flyers the match as they were crowned the champions of the 2008 Stevens Invitational.
The Ducks out-blocked Nazareth 11 to 3. Cranford led in kills with 13 and notched six blocks in the match. Trinsey and PremDas posted 11 kills each, as Trinsey added four total blocks. Ozols had 12 digs, while Grobeis dished for 43 assists. Bochicchio finished with 12 kills, 15 digs and five blocks as Stevens was awarded second-place for its performance.
Stevens will return to action on Wednesday when it begins conference play against Polytechnic University at 8 p.m. in Hoboken, N.J.
STEVENS INVITATIONAL OVERALL RESULTS
Saturday – Sunday, January 26 – 27, 2008
Walker Gymnasium and Canavan Arena – Hoboken, N.J.
Pool 1
MIT def. Hunter, 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-24)
Carthage def. MIT, 3-2 (30-32, 28-30, 30-26, 30-28, 15-6)
Carthage def. Hunter, 3-1 (29-31, 30-20, 30-19, 30-18)
Pool 2
Nazareth def. Baruch, 3-2 (30-23, 30-17, 27-30, 29-31, 15-12)
Stevens def. Baruch, 3-0 (30-22, 30-25, 30-25)
Nazareth def. Stevens, 3-2 (30-28, 30-27, 18-30, 26-30, 15-12)
Fifth-place Match
Hunter def. Baruch, 3-0 (30-23, 30-25, 30-24)
Semifinals
Stevens def. Carthage, 3-1 (23-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-22)
Nazareth def. MIT, 3-1 (24-30, 30-21, 30-26, 30-27)
Championship
Nazareth def. Stevens, 3-1 (31-29, 30-25, 24-30, 30-27)
Overall Team Records
No. 4 Carthage College (6-2)
No. 5 Stevens Institute of Technology (4-3)
No. 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3-4)
No. 9 Nazareth College (6-2)
Hunter College (4-2)
Baruch College (2-5)
All-Tournament Team
Praveen Pamidimukkala – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Danial Lavent - Baruch College
Andy Patton - Carthage College
Brandt Grobeis - Stevens Institute of Technology
Tomas Bochicchio - Stevens Institute of Technology
Chris DeHority - Nazareth College
Most Valuable Player
Kellen Gambeski - Nazareth College
