Juniata Box Score | Rivier Box Score

UNION, N.J. (February 7, 2015) – The second-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team had a huge Saturday in 'The Clash at Kean' as the Ducks knocked off No. 1 ranked Juniata College and No. 8 Rivier University via 3-0 sweeps.
 
The Ducks have now won their last six matches and 18 sets, moving to 6-2 on the young 2015 season including a 6-0 mark against NCAA Division III foes. Stevens is now also in line for its first-ever No. 1 national ranking when the American Volleyball Coaches Association releases its next poll come Tuesday night.
 
The Ducks opened Saturday by beating Rivier 25-17, 25-15 and 27-25, before rolling to a win over the top-ranked team in the land, Juniata. Stevens defeated the Eagles by set scores of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-19.
 
No. 2 Stevens 3, No. 1 Juniata 0
Senior outside hitter David Evans, senior outside hitter Ryan Seifert and junior outside hitter Tim Ferriter combined for 32 kills to pace a Ducks team that hit an amazing .548 in the match. Junior setter John Eddins tallied 33 assists as Evans and Ferriter each picked up a pair of aces. Junior middle Etan Bennett and Seifert combined for seven block assists, with Seifert and Eddins leading the Ducks with six and four digs, respectively.
 
In the first set, Stevens jumped out to a 3-0 lead, eventually doubling up the Eagles at 10-5 after an Evans kill. Juniata would not let the Ducks completely pull away, but the Eagles were unable to get closer than four as Stevens cruised.
 
A see-saw start to the second set had Juniata out to a 5-4 lead, but once Stevens took its first lead at 6-5, the Eagles never were able to reclaim the advantage. A 9-3 run helped the Ducks to a 13-8 margin, with a 5-0 run turning a 14-10 lead to 19-10 mostly via strong serving by freshman Cagan Friend.
 
A Ferriter kill gave Stevens its first double-digit lead of the match, before Eddins found Ferriter for the clincher and a 25-14 second-set win.
 
The third set was never in doubt after Juniata took a brief 1-0 lead. A 2-2 deadlock quickly moved to a 7-2 Stevens lead, once again on the sharp serving on Friend and Juniata (8-2) never recovered, failing to get closer than four the rest of the way.
 
Stevens never hit below .464 in a set and totaled 5.0 blocks and 14 digs in the match.
 
No. 2 Stevens 3, No. 8 Rivier 0
The Raiders (5-3) looked strong to start, holding a 6-4 lead after an attack error from the Ducks. However, that lead would be short lived as Stevens turned the set around, ripping off seven-straight points on the back of Seifert's serving (two aces) and kills from Ferriter, junior Alexander Carpenter and Seifert.
 
Rivier attempted to slow the Ducks; momentum, scoring a seventh point, but four points in a row for the Ducks made it a 15-7 set, and the Raiders would never recover.
In the second, Stevens faced a 5-2 deficit before a remarkable 18-5 run handed the Ducks a 20-10 lead. Evans served the Ducks to five-straight tallies at one point, with Seifert, Ferriter, Evans and senior middle Daniel Smith all nabbing kills. Ferriter, sophomore Jordan Stuart, Eddins, Smith and Seifert all tallied blocks in the run.
 
Despite trailing 2-0 in the match, Rivier pushed the Ducks in the third set, forcing extra points but ultimately falling 27-25.
 
Trailing 6-5 early, an 8-1 run helped the Ducks to a 13-7 lead, but the Raiders countered to fight within one at 16-15. Stevens pushed its lead back to three at 19-16, but Rivier responded to take a 22-21 edge. A service error gave Stevens its first chance at the match, and after the Raiders tied things at 25, a kill from junior outside hitter Chris Vaughan and a Rivier error gave the Ducks the 3-0 sweep.
 
Evans led the Ducks with 11 kills, five aces and three digs, with Ferriter getting seven kills (.538), two aces, six digs and two block assists. Eddins had 32 assists and a team-high four block assists, with Smith ending with six kills and three block assists. Seifert finished with three kills, three aces and three digs, while senior Dylan Schlosser and junior Thomas Wright each picked up five digs for a Ducks team that combined for 27 in the match as well as 7.5 total blocks.
 
The Ducks hit .318 for the match, including a strong .438 in the third set.
 
Stevens will return to action Wednesday night when it hosts NCAA DI foe NJIT in the Canavan Arena at 7 p.m.