Men's Volleyball Defeats Elmira, Falls To New Paltz In UVC Semifinals

3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (March 26, 2011) – Senior SteFan PremDas had a team-high 16 kills, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team opened play at the inaugural United Volleyball Conference Championships with a 3-1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-22) victory over Elmira College. PremDas then added 12 kills in the Ducks' second match of the day, but the Ducks fell short in UVC Semifinal match-up with SUNY New Paltz, 3-2 (13-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 15-7). With the split, Stevens moved to 16-11 overall on the year. The Ducks return to action on Tuesday, March 29 against Baruch College.

Stevens 3, Elmira 1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-22)
Despite a .323 hitting percentage in the first set, the Ducks fell behind the Soaring Eagles 1-0 on the strength of a closely contested 25-22 loss. Hoping to rebound, Stevens registered a .316 attack rate in a hard-fought 27-25 second set triumph, before limiting Elmira to a paltry .115 hitting percentage in en route to a 25-21 victory in the third. The Ducks then closed out the match with a 25-22 fourth set win. Hitting .244 as a team for the match – compared to Elmira's .246 attack percentage, Stevens won the battle at the net, out-blocking the Soaring Eagles, 31-19.

PremDas finished with 16 kills, 10 digs and nine blocks to pace the Ducks' attack, while senior outside hitter Jonathan Landis tallied 12 kills and seven digs. Freshman Ryan Seifert added 12 kills, while sophomore Jake Modestow – who hit .462 – and senior Timothy Karl (combined for 14 kills and 15 blocks. Senior setter and co-captain Brandt Grobeis finished with 53 assists – his second-highest total of the season – in the win.

Elmira outside hitters Ryan Gelenitis (Brick, N.J.) and Eric Sandmann (Glenville, N.Y.) led the Soaring Eagles with a match-best 19 kills apiece, while freshman libero Brayden Abbey (Sparta, N.J.) finished with a match-high 12 digs. Fellow freshman Michael Vellutato (Topanga, Calif.) dished out 46 assists in the loss.

New Paltz 3, Stevens 2 (13-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 15-7
Hitting .478, while holding the Hawks to a paltry .-065 attack rate, Stevens jumped out to an early 1-0 match edge with a 25-13 first set triumph. New Paltz responded by hitting .435 in a set two win, before the Ducks squeaked out a 25-21 victory in the third. Not to be denied, the Hawks hammered home a match-best .583 hitting percentage in a 25-16 fourth set victory before closing out the match by hitting .357 in a 15-7 fifth-set tiebreak.

PremDas finished with 12 kills and four digs in the loss, while Landis added 10 kills and three blocks. Modestow and Seifert each added nine kills, with Modestow also tallying seven blocks. Senior libero Aaron Ostrovsky collected a team-high six digs, while Grobeis handed out 41 assists.

Three Hawks finished with double-digit kills, led by junior Mike Van Tyne (Rochester, N.Y.) with 17. Junior middle blocker Kevin Stross (Port Washington, N.Y.) and senior outside hitter Keith MacDonald (Monroe Township, N.J.) tallied 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while senior setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had a match-best 48 assists.
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