ROCHESTER, N.Y. (February 12, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team, fresh off a sweep of No. 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, opened up play at the 2010 Nazareth College Invitational in Rochester, N.Y. with a pair of hard-fought losses to No. 3 University of California – Santa Cruz and No. 5 Rivier College. The Ducks fell to the third-ranked Banana Slugs, 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-26), in their tournament opener before losing to the fifth-ranked Raiders, 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-26), in the nightcap.

Junior SteFan PremDas led the team with 27 kills, while fellow juniors Bryant DeFranco and Timothy Karl each added 13 kills in two matches. Junior co-captain Brandt Grobeis totaled 66 assists on the day, while junior libero Aaron Ostrovsky had 18 digs.

Stevens continues play at the Nazareth Invitational against No. 14 Medaille College on Saturday, February 13.

No. 3 UCSC 3, No. 9 Stevens 0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-26)
Third-ranked UCSC came out firing early, committing just one error on 30 swings, while recording 22 kills to register a .700 hitting percentage in a 30-24 set one victory. The Banana Slugs then tallied a .316 hitting percentage in a 30-26 set two win, before holding the Ducks to a .062 clip en route to a 30-26 third set victory and 3-0 sweep.

PremDas tallied 17 kills to pace the Stevens' attack, while Karl added six kills and three blocks. Grobeis dished out 33 assists, while Ostrovsky collected a team-high seven digs in defense.

Senior outside hitter Justin Lam (San Francisco, Calif.) paved the way for UCSC offensively, registering a match-high 18 kills, while junior Austin Einhorn (Encinitas, Calif.) and freshman Salvatore La Cavera (Huntington Beach, Calif.) added 10 kills apiece. Senior setter Eric Rowell (Los Gatos, Calif.) tallied a match-high 45 assists, while junior libero Eric Pauly (Santa Cruz, Calif.) chipped in with a match-high 11 digs.

No. 5 Rivier 3, No. 9 Stevens 0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-26)
The Raiders hit .371 with 18 kills and five errors on 35 swings to take the first set, 30-26. Fifth-ranked Rivier continued to apply the pressure, once again hitting over .300 in set two – with a .316 clip – en route to a hotly contested, 30-28, victory. Despite hitting a match-low .194 in the third and final set, the Raiders put the Ducks away, taking the frame, 30-26.

PremDas and DeFranco each tallied 10 kills to lead the Stevens' attack, while Grobeis added 33 assists. Karl chipped in with seven digs and three blocks, while freshman middle hitter James Mataras had five kills and three block assists.

Junior outside hitter Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, R.I.) tallied a match-high 18 kills to lead Rivier, while freshman counterpart Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, Conn.) added 11 kills. Senior setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, Conn.) had a match-high 42 assists, while senior libero Kyle O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) led the Raiders defensively, with seven digs.