No. 8 Men's Volleyball Scores Wins over No. 4 Juniata and NJCU

2/18/2012 12:00:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 18, 2012) – In a non-conference tri-match at Canavan Arena on Saturday afternoon, February 18, the nationally ranked No. 8 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team tallied two victories over No. 4 Juniata College, 3-2, and New Jersey City University, 3-0. With the two wins, Stevens is now 8-1 on the season and 7-0 at home.

In the back-and-forth five-setter against Juniata, 27-25, 22-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11, junior Thomas Hannum (Libertyville, Ill.) led the Ducks with a team-high-tying 15 kills and added eight digs and three block assists. Hannum hit .289 in the match on 38 total attempts.

Also recording 15 kills in the victory was sophomore Ryan Seifert (Chicopee, Mass.). Seifert hit at a .267 clip and posted nine digs to tie for the team lead. Freshman Etan Bennett (Rochester, N.Y.) filled in for an injured David Evans (Penfield, N.Y.) and registered 13 kills, three digs and three total blocks.

As a team, Stevens totaled 71 kills and 69 assists, 66 of which were split between freshmen Kevin Aeckerle (Henrietta, N.Y.) and Dylan Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.). Aeckerle dished out 36 to go along with eight digs, while Schlosser posted 30 assists and nine digs.

Freshman Ian Tyger (York, Pa.) added 10 kills, while junior Jake Modestow (Hampden, Mass.) was nearly the fifth Duck to eclipse double digits kills with nine. Modestow was also a difference maker at the net with eight total blocks and led the Ducks with two service aces.

Stevens hit .324 as a team and tallied 10 or more kills in all five sets, including an amazing 16 out of 20 attempts in the third set (.750 hitting percentage).

In the sweep over NJCU, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21, Hannum once again paced Stevens with 11 kills in 17 attempts. He also chipped in seven digs and two blocks.

Seifert and Bennett put together another solid match with 17 combined kills. Seifert posted eight, while Bennett scored on nine kills.

The setters split time again and worked together for 40 assists. Aeckerle led the way with 29, and Schlosser chipped in 11. Aeckerle also made four digs.

Tyger proved to be more of a defensive threat in the second match; recording a team-best four blocks to go along with six kills. Junior captain James Mataras (River Vale, N.J.) also registered four blocks.

In the back line, junior Ricky Budar (Honolulu, Hawaii) added eight digs in the sweep.

Against the Gothic Knights, Stevens once again recorded more than 10 kills in each set and hit .350.

The Ducks will be back in action for a United Volleyball Conference showdown with Bard College on February 22 at 7 p.m. in Canavan Arena. Stevens will look to go 9-1 on the year and 5-1 in the UVC.

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