Landis, Fessler Shine On Senior Night Despite Men's Volleyball's Loss To No. 5 Baruch

4/5/2010 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 5, 2010) – Senior Andrew Fessler had a banner night in his final match at Canavan Arena, putting away a season-high 15 kills, while collecting 12 digs, but the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team fell to No. 5 Baruch College, 3-2 (26-30, 30-28, 28-30, 30-21, 15-10). The Ducks are now 19-11 on the year heading into their regular season finale at Division I Princeton University, while the Bearcats improved to 33-4 on the season.

Junior John Landis had 25 kills and four digs in the loss, hitting .383, while senior co-captain John Dennan added seven kills and four digs. Freshman Jake Modestow tallied six kills and four blocks, while junior setter Brandt Grobeis dished out 55 assists.

Three Bearcats tallied double-digit kills in the win with Sequiel Sanchez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico), Pablo Oliveira (Uberlandia, Brazil), and Ratmir Gorelik (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finishing with 19, 16, and 11 kills, respectively. Senior setter Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico) tied a match-high with 55 helpers, while junior libero Carlos DeLeon (Carolina, Puerto Rico) dug out a match-best 29 balls.

Set 1: Stevens 30, Baruch 26
With the set knotted at six in the early going, Stevens mounted a 7-3 run, capped off by a Grobeis service ace, to take a 13-8 lead. The Bearcats later cut the margin to two with an Oliveira spike, but two-consecutive Stevens' points, punctuated by a Dennan kill made it 19-4, forcing a Baruch timeout.

The Bearcats would fight back, trimming it to 22-20 on a Sanchez tally, but a Landis kill coupled with a Baruch error made it 24-20. Still up four at 28-24, Dennan put away a spike to make it 29-25, before eventually notching the final point to give Stevens a 30-26 first set victory.

Set 2: Baruch 30, Stevens 28
Stevens took an early 3-1 advantage in the second set before a 6-2 Baruch rally made it 7-5. Stevens responded with a run of its own, reeling off six of the set's next seven points to take an 11-8 edge. Still down three after a Fessler kill, the Bearcats tallied three-straight points, tying the game at 13 on another Oliveira kill, but the Ducks rattled off four-consecutive points, on a pair of Baruch errors and two Tom Hannum and Timothy Karl kills to take a 17-13 lead.

Following a Baruch timeout, the Bearcats rallied, mounting a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to one, while forcing a Stevens' stoppage. Baruch eventually knotted the set at 21 with a Sanchez kill before regaining the lead on a Ducks' error. Stevens took the lead right back, scoring three-straight points on a Fessler kill and a pair of Baruch miscues, but a 6-3 Baruch run made it 28-27 Bearcats.

From there Baruch took two of the set's final three points, earning the win on back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Eryk Kowalski (Zabno, Poland) and Sanchez.

Set 3: Stevens 30, Baruch 28
Both teams traded points in the early going with the game knotted at 10. Still tied at 15, the Ducks tallied back-to-back points thanks to a pair of Baruch errors to take a slim two-point margin. Ahead 20-18 following a Landis kill, a Baruch error gave the Ducks a three-point cushion – the largest of the set.

The Bearcats responded with a 5-2 run, taking a 23-22 lead, while forcing a Stevens timeout. Down 25-23, the Ducks rallied, outscoring the Bearcats, 7-3 down the stretch to take the pivotal third set and a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4: Baruch 30, Stevens 21
Hoping to stay alive, Baruch raced out to an early 10-5 lead, capped off by a Kowalski kill. Still ahead by five at 11-6, the Bearcats continued to apply pressure, going on a 5-3 run to extend the lead to seven, while forcing a Stevens' stoppage.

Leading 23-16, Baruch mounted another run, outscoring their Duck counterparts, 4-2, to take a 27-18 lead on a Kowalski spike, before Gorelik eventually put Stevens away, capping off a 30-21 fourth-set triumph.

Set 5: Baruch 15, Stevens 10
Down 3-2 after a Dennan kill, the Bearcats mounted a crucial, 8-2 run to take a 10-5 advantage, while forcing a Stevens timeout. The Ducks trimmed the deficit to two on a Fessler kill and Baruch error coming out of the break, but three unanswered Bearcat points, capped off by back-to-back Sanchez aces put Baruch up 13-7.

Ahead 14-10, Oliveira found a crease in the Stevens defense, hammering home a kill to seal the set and match victory for the Bearcats.
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