Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (March 9, 2013) – The nationally ranked No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team split its matches at the United Volleyball Conference Crossover hosted by SUNY New Paltz on Saturday. Stevens, now 18-6, 8-1 UVC, defeated Penn State-Behrend, 3-1, in the opener but were swept by No. 1 Nazareth College in the second match.

The Ducks cruised to victories in the first two sets by 25-19 outcomes but dropped set three, 26-24. Stevens bounced back to take the match with a 25-20 fourth set victory and hit .415 overall has a team (62 kills, 13 errors, 118 attempts).

In the sets Stevens won, the team hit .536, .414 and .652, compared to .184 in the third set.

Junior David Evans (Penfield, N.Y.) led the way with 15 kills in 27 tries and also recorded five digs and three service aces. Sophomore Ian Tyger (York, Pa.) posted 13 kills with six digs and three aces as well.

In the middle, senior Jake Modestow (Hampden, Mass.) and sophomore Etan Bennett (Rochester, N.Y.) combined for 17 kills in 21 attempts with seven total blocks. Modestow went 9-for-12 in the kill department with three blocks, while Bennett was nearly perfect with eight kills in nine tries and also paced the team with four blocks.

Sophomore Kevin Aeckerle (Henrietta, N.Y.) handed out a match-best 41 assists to go along with six digs, while junior Ryan Seifert (Chicopee, Mass.) chipped in six kills and two blocks in one set played.

Defensively, senior Thomas Hannum (Libertyville, Ill.) paced the Ducks with seven digs to go along with six kills and three blocks.

In a battle for first place in the conference, top ranked Nazareth swept Stevens, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19, to hand the Ducks their first conference loss in 2013.

Seifert was the lone Duck to register double-digit kills with 11 which tied a match-high to go along with six digs. Aeckerle added to his day with 31 assists with six more digs and a block.

Modestow and Bennett once again were solid in the middle with seven and six kills, respectively. Both players hit over .400 in the match and combined for 10 total blocks (six for Modestow and four for Bennett). Modestow also registered four digs.

 Evans chipped in five kills, five digs and three blocks, while Hannum tallied four kills, four blocks and three digs.

As a team, the Ducks finished the match with 11.5 blocks (19 block assists and two solo blocks). The big difference in the match was hitting percentage, Nazareth hit .323 compared to just .179 for Stevens.

The Ducks wrap up UVC Crossover play tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Hilbert College.