HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 26, 2014) – It was a busy Tuesday for the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team in terms of national and statistical rankings, and weekly awards provided by the ECAC.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its
Top 15 Poll yesterday afternoon and Stevens jumped from No. 12 to seventh in the country. The Ducks went 3-1 last week with wins over then No. 2 Rivier University and No. 14 Stevenson University at the Baruch College Tournament on February 21 and 22. Besides Kean University moving from an unranked school to 11th nationally, Stevens made the biggest move in the poll.
Also released yesterday were the NCAA Division III Statistical Rankings. Out of 66 institutions in DIII, the Ducks ranked within the top 17 in six categories as a team. Stevens is third nationally in assists per set (11.67) and blocks per set (2.65). Only United Volleyball Conference foes, SUNY New Paltz and New York University, are ahead of the Ducks in assists per set, while Juniata College and Kean sit in front of Stevens in blocks per set.
The Ducks land fourth in kills per set at 12.31 and are 10th in hitting percentage (.265), 12th in winning percentage (.692) and 17th in digs per set (10.15).
Individually, players are ranked out of 100, and sophomore
Alexander Carpenter (Delaware, Ohio) holds the highest ranking for Stevens at eighth overall in blocks per set at 1.21. Junior
Kevin Aeckerle (Henrietta, N.Y.) sits ninth in assists per set (9.48) and 29th in digs per set (2.34). Fellow junior
Daniel Smith (Tucson, Ariz.) is 12th in the country in hitting percentage (.391) and 17th in blocks per set (1.02), while freshman
Gabe Shankweiler (Allentown, Pa.) slides in at 24th in kills per set (3.50) and 25th in points per set (4.08). Sophomore
Chris Vaughan (Medford, N.J.) rounds out the top performers for the Ducks with the 25th-best hitting percentage in the country at .336.
After his UVC Player of the Week nod on Monday, Vaughan was also named
Corvias ECAC North Player of the Week yesterday evening.
Stevens hosts Bard College tonight at 7 p.m. for a UVC match in Canavan Arena. The match will be available to viewers via
live stats and webcast on
Empire8.tv. The Ducks also host No. 2 Juniata on Friday evening, February 28, at 7 p.m.
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