HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 11, 2015) – Junior Tim Ferriter and senior David Evans each recorded 12 kills to lead the No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team past No.9 and fourth seeded New York University in the United Volleyball Conference semifinals on Saturday.
 
With the win 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 win, the Ducks have advanced to the UVC championship game Sunday at 2 p.m. against the winner of No. 3 Nazareth and No. 2 New Paltz. Stevens has never taken home a UVC title, falling to Nazareth in the finals in 2011 and 2012.
 
The Ducks started off the first set by notching five of the first six points including a pair of kills from Ferriter. After the Violets recorded a kill from Colin LaPorte, Stevens went on a 6-0 run aided by two kills from senior Daniel Smith. As the hosts inched closer to set point, NYU used two blocks anchored by Nick Benson to cut the deficit to 23-15, but a kill by senior Ryan Seifert ended the rally and gave the home team the first set.
 
The second stanza saw the Ducks jump out to an early 9-2 advantage, helped out by a trio of attack errors and three Ferriter kills. NYU answered back with a 3-1 run thanks to a kill from Chase Klein and a solo block by LaPorte. But a momentum swinging 4-0 by Stevens put them back up eight points. The Ducks used another 3-0 run behind two unforced errors and a kill by Evans to jump ahead 23-14. NYU recorded a side-out on the first set point, but a service error gave the Ducks a 2-0 set edge.
 
The third period saw neither team take a big lead early, staying tied until the score was six all. A 4-0 run with Jordan Stuart serving gave the Ducks the lead they would not relinquish. A double block by Chase Corbett and Benson cut the deficit down to six but it was as close as they would get. The Ducks recorded five of their final six points thanks to a variety of service and attack errors to close out the match.
 
Stevens outhit the Violets .341-.116 including a .423-.211 edge in the opening set. In addition to the 12 kills, Evans recorded nine digs while senior Ryan Seifert had kills 11 with senior Dylan Schlosser notching digs. Senior Kevin Aeckerle tallied 35 assists and eight digs.
 
Benson had six kills and eight digs while Patrick Merrick and Derrick Chiu combined for 23 assists.

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