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POST MATCH INTERVIEWS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 22, 2016) – The fifth seeded Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team knocked off fourth seeded Rutgers University-Newark in four sets in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals Friday.
The Ducks advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second straight season, and will meet top seeded SUNY-New Paltz at 4 p.m. tomorrow. In the two meetings against New Paltz this year, the Ducks are 0-2, including a three set loss in the United Volleyball Conference finals two weeks ago. Stevens won the match 25-18, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-14.
Stevens never trailed in the opening frame, and forced Newark into a timeout thanks to a 4-0 run make the set 12-7. Junior
Gabe Shankweiler and senior
Chris Vaughan each recorded kills during the run. A solo block by the Scarlet Raiders trimmed the lead to 13-10, but Vaughan fired off five straight including an ace to take control. A kill by sophomore
Thomas Burrell ended the first set to put Stevens up 1-0.
A Shankweiler kill put Stevens up 15-11, but Rutgers roared back to even the second set at 16 all. A solo block by senior
John Eddins coupled with a trio of attack errors pulled Stevens in front 21-17. A Scarlet Raider attack brought up set point, but Newark reeled off three straight before Vaughan put set point away with a kill.
The Ducks, who hit .379 and .345 in the first two frames, hit only .265 in the third and dropped the set. They rebounded nicely in the fourth, slugging .591 to RU-N .148. With Newark getting a Corey Pieper kill to get within four at 16-12, Vaughan led an 8-0 run to bring up match point. The Scarlet Raiders fended off two match points, but Ferriter knocked home an Eddins set to win the match.
Ferriter led the Ducks with 20 kills and .545 hitting percentage, while Vaughan had 15 and seven digs. Eddins dished out a career-high 52 assists while middles
Jordan Stuart and Burrell combined for eight blocks.
Pieper had 13 kills while Kevin McCandless handed out 41 assists for Rutgers-Newark,
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