NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 20, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team, ranked fourth on the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll (AVCA) and the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Metro Division preseason favorite, started its season off right, winning the battle between two top-five teams by defeating No.5 New York University, 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-23) at the Coles Sports Center in New York, N.Y. Junior outside hitter Jonathan Landis tallied a match-high 15 kills to pace the Ducks' attack, while senior middle hitter Christopher Egebo registered nine kills and five blocks.
Stevens began the first set with a 4-1 run thanks in part to a pair of Egebo kills, but NYU responded by scoring five of the set's next seven points, knotting it at six on a Ducks' error. Tied at 11, Egebo followed up a Michael Ferragonio (Irwin, Pa.) score, with his third kill of the evening, kick-starting a 7-4 Stevens' rally that gave the Ducks an 18-14 advantage.
The Violets would battle back, tying the set at 22 before a Ferragonio kill coupled with a Stevens error gave NYU a slim 24-22 lead. Back-to-back kills by Timothy Karl and senior co-captain John Dennan helped the Ducks regain the lead at 25-24, and with the set once again tied at 26, Brandt Grobeis hammered home a kill, giving Stevens a one-point edge they would not relinquish as the Ducks closed out the first set, 30-28.
Three-straight Ferragonio service aces staked NYU to an early 8-6 lead in set two, but Karl quickly found a hole in the Violet defense, putting away a kill that spurred a 5-0 Stevens rally. Up 12-10, Landis tallied back-to-back kills to give the Ducks a four-point cushion.
NYU freshman outside hitter Taylor Fauntleroy (Santa Barbara, Calif.) later trimmed the Violet deficit to two at 20-18, but Egebo responded with a kill of his own to start a 6-1 Ducks' run. Still up six following a Ferragonio kill that made it 26-20, Stevens closed out the second set in much the same way as it did the first, outscoring NYU, 4-2 down the stretch to take a commanding 2-0 set lead.
The Violets once again took an 8-6 lead in the third and final set, but a Landis kill followed by an NYU attack error knotted the game at eight. Hoping to stay alive, the Violets reeled off five of the set's next seven points to take a 13-10 lead, but a pair of NYU errors coupled with two Egebo kills helped Stevens retake the lead.
Still ahead by one at 20-19, Egebo pounded home another kill before an NYU error and a Dennan tally forced a Violet timeout, while giving Stevens a 23-19 lead. Holding onto a four-point edge after an NYU error made it 27-23, Landis notched his 15th kill of the day before two more Violet errors sealed the Stevens victory.
Dennan finished with seven kills, while Karl added six kills, three blocks, and a pair of digs. Landis and junior Aaron Ostrovsky tied for the team-lead in digs with four apiece. SteFan PremDas finished with four kills and six blocks, while Grobeis collected a match-high 35 assists in the win.
Ferragonio and Fauntleroy totaled 14 and 13 kills, respectively, in defeat, while freshman setter Trevor Salter (Chula Vista, Calif.) tallied a match-high six digs and team-high 29 assists.
Stevens, which held a 46-38 kill and 19-14 block advantage, hit .386 in the match including a match-best .458 in the third set, while NYU hit just 0.71 for the match including a -.133 clip in the second set.
The Ducks will host the 12th annual Stevens Invitational against AVCA Preseason No. 6 Nazareth College, Newbury College, and Hunter College on January 23-24.
