HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 6, 2016) – It took five sets, but the No. 5 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team outlasted No. 8 UC-Santa Cruz Sunday.

The Ducks moved to 18-4 with the 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 win. UC-Santa Cruz dropped to 15-5. Last spring, the Banana Slugs handed Stevens the only loss in Division III play.

Both teams hit well in the first stanza, as the Slugs slugged .464 while Stevens hit .324. A kill by junior Gabe Shankweiler put the Ducks up 15-13, but the visitors called a timeout and tied the score. After senior Chris Vaughan put away a kill to put Stevens up 22-21, Santa Cruz rolled off three straight markers to force set point. The Ducks countered with three of their own, but a ball handling error on Stevens handed the set to UC.

Despite falling behind 5-2 early, the Ducks were able to battle back and tie things up after a double-block by senior Tim Ferriter and Vaughan. A Jorge Reyes kill by the visitors brought everything square at 17, but the Ducks took over scoring five of the final six markers, capped off by a kill from Shankweiler.

The third frame was tightly contested, as no one would go ahead by more than three points. With the Ducks up 18-15, the Banana Slugs used three straight points to even things up, forcing Stevens into a timeout. Six of the next eight tallies went to Stevens, but a service error prevented them from winning the set. One point later, Vaughan hammered down a kill to put the hosts up 2-1.

Santa Cruz went up 7-3 to open set four, but a Ferriter kill would tie things up. Seven of the next eight points went in favor of the visitors, and Stevens made a change in personnel. The change helped as the Ducks were able to get the lead down to two points. Ferriter would slam home three consecutive kills to make the score 23-22, but Stevens couldn't get closer as the Slugs evened the match at two.

The Ducks controlled a majority of the final set, racing out to a 10-5 lead. The Banana Slugs showed why they're in the top-10, coming back with four straight of their own. A Slugs serving error brought up match point, but Jake Howard was able to push the deficit down to 14-13. The next play, Vaughan dispatched a kill from junior Scott Russell to end the match.

After the match, the Ducks honored the 2015 National Championship team, and members of the squad were presented with championship rings.

Ferriter, Vaughan and Shankweiler all had double-doubles, while Russell dished out 54 assists. Junior Jordan Stuart and senior Etan Bennett each had four blocks from the middle, trailing only Ferriter who had five.

The Ducks will take No. 7 Dominican College on Tuesday inside Canavan Arena.

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