Postgame Interview
HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 18, 2015) – The No.1 ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team knocked off No.3 SUNY New Paltz in straight sets on Wednesday evening.
The scores of the match were 26-24, 25-12 and 25-22, and Stevens upped its record to 9-3, 3-0 in the United Volleyball Conference. SUNY New Paltz fell to 6-2, 2-1 in the UVC.
In set one, neither team was able to lead by more than three points. Stevens was able to take a 13-10 lead behind kills from senior outside hitters
David Evans and
Ryan Seifert. After trading points, the Ducks took a 19-17 edge before the Hawks answered back to go ahead 20-19 behind a kill and back-to-back aces by freshman outside hitter Anthony Bonilla. A kill by Evans put the Ducks in set point, and after a huge triple block by senior
Daniel Smith, Seifert and Evans, they took set one 26-24.
Stevens raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second stanza behind two Evans kills and an ace. After the Hawks trimmed the lead to 12-10, the Ducks rolled off 13 of the final 15 points, capped by a kill from junior setter
John Eddins. Evans had five kills and three service aces in the second set.
In a highly contested third set, the Ducks used a variety of attacks to battle back after trailing 9-6. Smith pounded home a kill bring Stevens within 11-10,. and junior middle hitter
Etan Bennett gave the Ducks a lead they would not relinquish, smashing home a kill which handed them a 17-16 lead. After a ball handling error made the score 19-18 in favor Stevens, the Ducks used a kill from Smith, coupled with a double-block from Evans and Smith to grab a 21-18 set lead. The Ducks punctuated the victory with a thunderous solo block by Bennett sending the large student cheering section into celebration.
The Ducks outhit the Hawks .256-.170, while recording five more blocks than their opponents. Stevens was led by Evans, who finished with 12 kills, seven digs and four service aces. Senior libero
Dylan Schlosser led the team with nine digs, and senior
Kevin Aeckerle and junior
John Eddins each posted double digits in the assist column. New Paltz was led by senior Christian Smith, who finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 16 assists, while Bonilla and junior Christopher Husmann each had seven kills
The Ducks will embark on a 13 match road-trip beginning Saturday as they take on No. 7 UC-Santa Cruz and No. 5 Carthage College beginning at 3 p.m. Central Daylight Time in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
