HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 2, 2010) – Despite a season-high 27 kills from junior outside hitter Jonathan Landis the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 1 Juniata College, 3-2 (24-30, 30-23, 24-30, 30-26, 15-13) at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks, ranked 15th on the American Volleyball Coaches Association's most recent poll, are now 19-10 on the season, while the Eagles improved to 7-12 on the year.
Landis added 10 digs and three-blocks, while senior John Dennan had 11 kills and 14 digs. Junior SteFan PremDas finished with nine kills, eight digs, and three blocks, while junior middle Timothy Karl had seven kills and six blocks. Freshman Jake Modestow had six kills and two blocks in the loss.
Junior co-captain Brandt Grobeis dished out 53 assists while directing the Stevens attack, adding 16 digs. Junior libero Aaron Ostrovsky had a season-best 19 digs in defense.
Four Eagles finished with double-digit kills, led by senior middle hitter Evan Halteman's (Perkiomenville, Pa.) 17 tallies. Sophomore Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa.) had 16 kills and seven blocks, while senior Zach Wanner (Lancaster, Pa.) notched 12 kills, nine digs, and seven blocks. Sophomore Mike Kraft (York, Pa.) finished with 11 kills and a team-high 16 digs, while sophomore setter John Almquist (York, Pa.) collected a match-best 54 assists.
Stevens returns to action on Monday, April 5 against No. 5 Baruch College.
Set 1: Stevens 30, Juniata 24
Stevens raced out to an early 8-3 lead, punctuated by a Dennan Kill. Still ahead by five at 11-6, Stevens tallied two of the set's next three points, forcing an Eagles' timeout following a Landis spike. Trailing 15-8, Wolff hammered home a kill to kick-start a quick 3-0 spurt capped off by a pair of Almquist aces.
Up four at 21-17, PremDas found a crease in the Juniata defense, extending the margin to five. An Eagles attack error minutes later upped the margin to six, forcing another Juniata stoppage. Back-to-back Halteman kills following the break trimmed the Eagles deficit to four, but the Ducks notched four of the set's final six points to take a 1-0 lead in the best of five.
Set 2: Juniata 30-23
With the set knotted at 10 in the early going, Kraft put away a kill to put Juniata up one before three-consecutive Stevens errors gave the Eagles a four-point cushion. A Landis kill would later cut the lead to three, but a 5-1 Juniata run capped off by another Kraft kill made it 19-12.
The Ducks battled back to within five at 26-21 following a Modestow ace, but the Eagles tallied four of the set's final six to tie the match at a set apiece.
Set 3: Stevens 30, Juniata 24
With the pivotal third set tied at 10, Stevens mounted a 7-2 run, capped off by a PremDas kill, taking a five-point edge, while forcing a Juniata timeout. The Eagles pulled within four on a Wanner kill, but consecutive Duck points on a PremDas spike and a Juniata error made it 20-14.
The Eagles cut the lead to four at 27-23 with a Dan Follett (Cranberry Township, Pa.) kill but Landis responded with a spike of his own to up the margin to five. Wolff again cut it to four on the ensuing play, but a Juniata service error coupled with a PremDas kill gave Stevens the third set, 30-24.
Set 4: Juniata 30, Stevens 26
Stevens raced out to a 7-3 margin in the fourth set, forcing a quick Juniata timeout. The Eagles would regroup following the break, tying the set at eight on a Ducks' error. Juniata eventually took the lead on a Wolff kill, making it 14-13.
Halteman put the Eagles up two with a tally that made it 16-14, but Stevens rallied, scoring three of the set's next four points to tie it at 17. The teams then exchanged points for several minutes before the Ducks built a two-point lead after back-to-back Juniata errors – forcing yet another Eagles' stoppage.
Juniata again rallied following the break, mounting a 10-4 run to close out the set and even the match at 2-2.
Set 5: Juniata 15, Stevens 13
Juniata took an early 6-1 lead in the fifth and final set on a Wolff kill. Stevens responded with a 3-0 run, cutting it to two on a PremDas spike, but the Eagles went on a 4-1 run of their own to take a 10-5 lead on an Almquist score.
The Eagles extended the margin to seven at 13-7, before a 6-1 Stevens rally, capped off by three-straight Landis kills and a Juniata error made it 14-13. Wolff finally put Stevens away on the ensuing possession, sealing the hard-fought, 3-2, victory.
