No. 13 Men's Volleyball Upends No. 7 Baruch, 3-2

3/29/2011 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 29, 2011) – Four Ducks finished with double-digit kills led by freshman David Evans' 13 spikes, as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team, ranked 13th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Poll, outlasted No. 7 Baruch College, 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 15-13), in Stevens' final tune-up before the 2011 North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks improved to 17-11 overall on the season, while the Bearcats fell to 30-13 on the year.

Having dropped a closely-contested first set 25-22, Stevens rebounded in the second, holding the home team to just 10 kills on 31 swings, while also helping to force 10 errors (.000) en route to a 25-18 victory. Allowing just a .080 hitting percentage in the third, the Ducks secured a 25-19 win to take a 2-1 match edge before dropping the following frame, 25-22. Hoping to close out the match, Stevens ramped it up a notch in the fifth-set tiebreak, registering nine kills on 10 swings, hitting a gaudy .900 in a hard-fought 15-13 triumph.

Evans finished with 13 kills and five digs, while fellow freshman Ryan Seifert, recorded a .526 attack rate with 12 kills. Senior Jonathan Landis hit .333 with 11 kills, seven digs, and five blocks, while sophomore Jake Modestow tallied a .643 hitting percentage with 10 kills and a match-best seven blocks.

Senior setter and co-captain Brandt Grobeis dished out 48 assists, adding six digs and four blocks in the win, while fellow senior Timothy Karl finished with seven kills, three digs, and three blocks. Senior libero Aaron Ostrovsky collected a team-high 10 digs to help Stevens to its 17th victory of the season.

Senior Eryk Kowalski (Zabno, Poland) paced the Bearcats' attack with a match-best 20 kills, hitting .457, with six digs and a pair of blocks. Senior outside hitter Pablo Oliveira (Uberlandia, Brazil) added 11 kills and 11 digs, while freshman middle blocker Steven Coniglio (Plainview, N.Y.) added nine kills, hitting .412. Sophomore setter Jesus Echevarria (San Juan, Puerto Rico) handed out 48 assists in a losing effort.

Stevens will open play at the 2011 NECVA Tournament against SUNY New Paltz on Friday, April 1. Baruch opens NECVA Championship play against Ramapo College after a matchup with AVCA No. 15 Vassar College on Wednesday, March 30.
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