UVC Tournament Official Preview
HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 8, 2015) – The No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team will be hosting the United Volleyball Conference tournament beginning on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Ducks (26-4) are currently riding a 17 match winning streak heading into the tournament.
UVC HISTORY Stevens has never taken home a UVC title, finishing as a runner-up in both 2012 and 2013.
THE BRACKET No. 5 Elmira will take on No. 4 New York University at 4 p.m. Friday which be followed up by No. 6 Vassar battling No. 3 Nazareth at 6:30 p.m.
The Elmira/NYU winner will play No. 1 Stevens Saturday at 2 p.m. and the Vassar/Nazareth winner taking on No. 2 SUNY-New Paltz at 4:30, with the championship match Sunday at 2 p.m.
New Paltz ended a three year run by Nazareth last season to take home the 2014 crown.
HORSE FOR THE COURSEThe Ducks knocked off all six UVC postseason teams en route to a perfect 8-0 record in conference play this year. In fact, Stevens only dropped two sets within the conference this season, dropping a set to both Nazareth and Elmira.
ROAD WARRIORS In the middle of the campaign, the Ducks played 13 straight matches away from the friendly confines of Canavan Arena. During that stretch they went 12-1, falling only to current No. 2 University of California at Santa Cruz.
POLL TOPPERS The Ducks have been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the AVCA Coaches Poll all 11 weeks this season. Additionally, Stevens is 12-1 against the AVCA top-15.
TEAM RANKINGSStevens enters the weekend ranked near the top in several NCAA team rankings. The Ducks are third nationally in assists per set (11.85), fourth in hitting percentage (.322) and second in kills per set (12.95).
SENIOR POWER Seniors
Ryan Seifert and
David Evans lead the team in kills with 261 and 252 respectively, good for fifth and seventh respectively in the UVC.
The duo is also tied for sixth in the conference with 29 service aces, while classmate
Kevin Aeckerle just reached the 600 assist mark on the season to place him third on the programs all-time list with 3,776 assists.
BLOCK PARTY Overall, the Ducks have out-blocked their opponents this year by 68.0, while four members are over the 40.0 block plateau. Junior
Etan Bennett has 61.0 blocks, while junior
Tim Ferriter has 40.0 to go along with zero blocking errors.
SCOUTING ELMIRA AND NYU The Ducks knocked off Elmira in four sets back on March 7 and have defeated NYU twice in straight sets. The Soaring Eagles are led by junior outside hitter Erik Griffin, who has 427 kills and was named second team All-UVC last spring.
The Violets are led by sophomore setter Patrick Merrick, who has handed out 603 assists this season to lead the team, and is also tied fifth with 33.0 blocks.
WHERE TO WATCH Live stats and video will be available for both rounds on stevensducks.com
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