ROCHESTER, N.Y. (February 14, 2016) – Senior Tim Ferriter of the No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team recorded his 1,000th career kill, but the team dropped a pair of United Volleyball Conference matches Sunday.

The Ducks fell to 8-3 overall, 0-2 in the UVC, while No. 4 Nazareth College moved to 12-1 and No. 2 SUNY-New Paltz went to 9-2.

No. 4 Nazareth 3, No. 6 Stevens 1 (25-10, 29-27, 19-25, 25-17)
Nazareth was able to take advantage of the Stevens hitting woes in the opening set, holding the Ducks to a -.240 hitting percentage while hitting .381. In the second frame, Stevens outslugged the hosts, but still dropped the set despite having four set points.

The Ducks turned play around in set three, jumping out to an 8-5 edge. After a kill by Naz' Kane Wittorff cut the gap to 17-14, Stevens scored three straight, capped off by a Ferriter kill. After a kill from senior Chris Vaughan brought up set point Naz was able to force a sideout. But a Golden Flyer service error cut their set lead in half at two sets to one.

After a service error cut the Ducks deficit to 8-6 in the final stanza, Naz rolled off four straight points to grab a commanding lead. The Ducks were unable to recover, and did not get within six the rest of the way.

Vaughan and Ferriter combined for 24 kills and 10 digs, while junior Scott Russell handed out 35 assists in the setback.

No. 2 New Paltz 3, No. 6 Stevens 2 (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 17-15)
In a thriller reminiscent of last year's NCAA Semifinal match, the roles were reversed as the Hawks topped the Ducks in five. The Ducks managed to outhit New Paltz .392-.310, but were done in by 13 service errors. In the first and fourth sets, New Paltz hit .441 and .469, while the Ducks hit .346 and .344.

Ferriter hit the 1,000 kill mark in the opening set, as New Paltz closed out the stanza on 4-1 run, after the Ducks had closed to within 21-19. After Stevens went ahead 10-7 in the set two, the Hawks clawed back to go up 11-10. An Andy Fishman kill brought NP ahead 17-16, but the Ducks tallied five straight to jump back in control. Stevens rattled off the final three markers, as Vaughan slammed home a kill to even the match.

A couple 3-0 spurts helped the Ducks go up 12-6, and the Ducks were able to fully grab the reigns thanks to a 4-0 rally capped off with a Hawk error. New Paltz would get to within 22-17 before Stevens scored three of the final four points to go ahead 2-1.

In a tight battle during the fourth period, neither team was able to go up by more than two points. A Ferriter kill cut the gap to 20-19, but New Paltz scored two straight to force Stevens into a timeout. The timeout worked, as Ferriter powered home back-to-back kills, and junior Gabe Shankweiler added another to knot the set. The Hawks scored three of the next four to even the match and force a deciding fifth set.

After battling to a 5-5 stalemate, New Paltz got kills from Steven Woessner and Joe Norman, before Ferriter answered just before switching sides. Norman would record an ace to give NP their biggest edge at 11-7, but the Ducks used a pair of unforced errors to get within a point. They were able to force ties at 13, 14 and 15 before the Hawks scored two straight to end the epic match.

Vaughan and Ferriter had 19 kills and eight digs each, while senior John Eddins dished out 48 assists.

The Ducks continue UVC play Wednesday, hosting No. 8 New York University.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics     
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks