HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 25, 2009) – Senior middle hitter Andrew Cranford produced 24.5 points on 20 kills, 3.5 blocks and a service ace as the third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped cross-river rival New York University for the third time this season on Wednesday night in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks (15-3) took Sets 1, 3 and 4 (30-19, 36-38, 30-28, 30-16) as Stevens notched 23 team blocks and hit .444 in the four-set win. The tenth-ranked Violets fall to 3-12 on the year.
Ahead 12-6 in Set 1, the Ducks extended their lead to 10 points (26-16), during a stretch in which seven different members of the Stevens squad posted kills. Cranford led with a pair as the host team capitalized off eight miscues that the Violets rendered. Senior outside hitter John Dennan fired an ace, while Cranford and sophomore outside hitter SteFan PremDas gave the Ducks the 1-0 advantage as each registered a kill.
It was clear in the second set that NYU was more comfortable as both squads battled back and forth, trying to gain a lead. Stevens took its first advantage of the game (28-25) when senior libero Michael Bertucci landed an ace, with the Violets burning their second timeout. Whatever was said worked as NYU returned to the court to tie it at 28-28. Senior outside hitter Devin Zolnowski (Bridgewater, N.J.) started the 3-0 spurt with a kill, followed by a Ducks' attacking error and one more kill by Zolnowski. From then on the set was tied eight more times. NYU held the one-point advantage, with Stevens finding answers to the powerful NYU attack. Cranford and PremDas each tallied a pair of kills during that span, but back-to-back attacking errors by the Ducks gave the Violets the set and knot the match at 1-1.
Set 3 started off in similar fashion as Game 2. Stevens went up 15-12, to see the set deadlocked at 18-all. The 6-2 run was led by Zolnowski, who notched a pair of kills. Soon after, the Ducks went up by four (24-20), fueled by attacking errors from the Violets and kills by Cranford and Dennan. NYU clawed back into it, having trailed by one (28-27), but it was Dennan and Cranford once again, who finished the game with a kill apiece.
The Ducks snatched the life out of NYU in the final set. Ahead 16-12, Stevens went on to post its 15th win of the season off a 14-4 run. Cranford had a pair of kills as senior outside hitter Joe Trinsey (Wilmington, Del.) got in on the action when he recorded three-straight points to put the Ducks up by 12 (27-15). The match ended with three errors on the Violets as they registered 16 in the game, while the Ducks posted four blocks.
One of the deciding factors in tonight's win, other than out-blocking NYU 23-13, was the serve/recieve by both squads. Stevens, who usually has trouble in that department, landed five aces and kept their errors to a minimum (9). NYU tallied four service aces but had 13 miscues on the night.
Cranford led the way with his .667 hitting percentage having drilled 20 kills on 27 swings and only two errors. He finished third on the team with six total blocks. PremDas had 17 kills with three errors on 32 attempts for a .438 attacking percentage. He landed an ace and three block assists. Senior middle hitter Doug Reger was a 6'4” wall at the net, having picked up 10 total blocks, notched nine kills on 19 swings for a .368 hitting percentage. Bertucci lifted 11 digs, while sophomore setter Brandt Grobeis dished out 58 assists and had a career-high eight total blocks.
For NYU, Zolnowski led the way with 23 kills and 11 digs as senior setter IIan Goldstein (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) connected on 59 assists and lofted 15 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Fran Hodgson (Surf City, N.J.) had 15 kills and four total blocks in the defeat.
Stevens will return to the court on Friday when the Ducks take on Baruch College at 6 p.m. in New York, N.Y.
