Men's Volleyball Drops UVC Conference Opener

2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM

BUFFALO, N.Y. (February 5, 2011) – Despite a 13-kill, eight dig effort from junior SteFan PremDas, the sixth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped its United Volleyball Conference opener to fifth-ranked Nazareth College, 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-19, 15-10), at D'Youville's College Center Gym in Buffalo, N.Y. The Ducks drop to 6-2 overall and 0-1 in UVC play with the loss, while the Golden Flyers improved to 6-2 and 2-0 in league action with the victory.

Stevens opened the match hitting .286 en route to a 25-20 first set triumph, but a .370 Nazareth attack percentage in the second carried the Golden Flyers to a hard-fought 26-24 win, knotting the match. The Ducks responded by cooling off the Naz hitters, allowing a paltry .194 hitting percentage in a 26-24 third set win, but the Golden Flyers regained their edge in the fourth, notching a .391 swing rate in a 25-19 victory. Nazareth would seal the win in a matchup of two top-10 opponents, tallying a match-best .533 attack percentage in a 15-10 fifth-set tiebreak.

Senior Jonathan Landis finished with 10 kills in the loss, while sophomore Jake Modestow added nine kills and six blocks. Senior Timothy Karl and freshman David Evans, the league's reigning Rookie of the Week, each tallied eight kills, with the duo also combining for nine digs and six blocks. Senior co-captain Brandt Grobeis, recently named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week, chipped in with 44 assists and four digs.

Junior outside hitter Billy Gimello (Happauge, N.Y.) paced the Golden Flyers' attack with a .462 hitting percentage, 14 kills, five digs, and four blocks, while senior Brian Bunch (Liverpool, N.Y.) added 14 kills, seven digs, and three blocks. Fellow senior Hans Schroeder (Kenmore, N.Y.) and sophomore middle blocker Robert Kraft (Waretown, N.J.) each added nine kills, combining for five digs and three blocks, while sophomore setter EJ Wells-Spicer (Phelps, N.Y.) dished out a match-best 55 helpers. Sophomore libero Dan Mowery (Phelps, N.Y.) added a team-high nine digs in Nazareth's sixth victory of the season.

Stevens will look to rebound on Sunday, February 6 when it takes on new conference rival Hilbert College.
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