HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 6, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team swept no. 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and defeated Endicott College, 3-1, at home Saturday afternoon. The Ducks were led by captains Brandt Grobeis and John Dennan, who both played outstanding matches. With the two wins, Stevens runs its record to 7-2.
In the first match of the day, the Ducks defeated Endicott College, 3-1 (30-17, 30-23, 26-30 and 30-21). The opening set featured strong serving from Grobeis at the start, as Stevens raced out to a double-digit lead at 17-7. Stevens continued to build its lead to 25-13, as senior outside hitter John Dennan had a great kill followed by a block on the next point to put away the Gulls late in the game.
SteFan PremDas opened the second set with three kills on the first four Stevens points. The set remained close, however, until a quick set by Grobeis allowed junior Aaron Ostrovsky to pound one home down the middle. The Ducks scored the next three points to make the score 17-11. Endicott trimmed the lead to three at 25-22, but back-to-back kills by junior Timothy Karl flipped the momentum permanently. A service ace by Bryant DeFranco and another kill by Karl ended the second set.
The teams traded points to begin the third set, and after 16 points both teams were tied at eight. Endicott scored the next four points, but Stevens battled back to tie the score again at 14. Endicott once more took the lead, this time for good by a count of 17-20. A great kill by Tom Hannum seemed to quell the Endicott momentum for a moment, but the set ended on a hard kill down the line by A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.) with the Ducks trailing by four.
Early in the fourth set, Stevens got a block from senior Christopher Egebo, who had three in the match. After an ace by Ryan Dunham, the Ducks enjoyed a 6-4 lead. Still leading 13-12 but with Endicott serving, John Dennan had a monster kill that sparked the Ducks to the finish. PremDas was brilliant while serving seven straight points, including two aces. After his service run, Stevens led 27-17. The teams continued to battle until, after another kill by Dennan, the final was 30-21, with Stevens winning the match 3-1.
Against no. 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Ducks led wire-to-wire and won in straight sets (30-22, 30-23 and 30-26). With Stevens already leading 17-13 after a PremDas kill, MIT called a timeout in an attempt to slow the Ducks momentum. PremDas responded with an ace on the first point out of the timeout to run the score to 18-13. A few points later captain John Dennan had a similar kill/ace sequence for the Ducks' 24th and 25th points. A great block by Timothy Karl got Stevens its next point. After an MIT attack hit the antenna, Dennan ended the first set after an attempted block on his attack sailed out of bounds.
The second set opened up with two great quick set kills by Christopher Egebo. But MIT scored the next four points, including a great block by David Thomas (Carlsbad, Calif.). Stevens proceeded to tie the score at four, and the teams were also deadlocked at 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the most tense set of the day. Stevens finally broke the string of sideouts with three points to make the score 13-10. Again MIT called timeout to check the momentum swing, but again Stevens responded as Dennan recorded a kill on the first point out of the timeout. The Ducks had their largest lead at 24-16, but MIT made it a four point game before Dennan ended a fantastic rally and MIT's streak, and Stevens proceeded to rip off three more consecutive points. The game ended a few points later on an MIT service error with the Ducks leading 30-23.
With Stevens already leading by a score of 5-2 in the third set, the Ducks got an ace from Christopher Egebo. Another ace by PremDas made the score 7-3. But with Garrett Winther (Broomfield, Colo.) serving for MIT, the Engineers tied the score at eight. Bryant DeFranco ultimately ended MIT's run with a nice kill. With the score tied at 10, a block by Egebo and Dennan sparked a six point streak for the Ducks. They ran their lead to 21-15, but MIT closed the gap to four at 26-22. Needing four points to win the match, Stevens split the next eight points to earn the sweep by a score of 30-26.
The Ducks will be back in action Wednesday February 10, as they will take on Sacred Heart University at home starting at 6 p.m.
