POST MATCH PRESS CONFERENCES
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 23, 2016) – Despite 15 kills and nine digs from senior
Tim Ferriter, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team fell to SUNY-New Paltz in four sets in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament semifinals Saturday.
The Ducks end their season at 27-7, while New Paltz moved to 32-2 and will play for the National Championship tomorrow against either Stevenson University or Springfield College. The scores of the match were 22-25, 27-25, 18-25, and 15-25.
"I could not be prouder than I am of this team. This team showed such a amazing commitment to the program," Coach
Patrick Dorywalski said. "They worked hard and never once complained or gave up. They supported each other and the coaches every day. They are the true epitome of what a scholar athlete is."
Stevens went ahead 9-6 in set one thanks to a Ferriter kill, but the Hawks fired up three straight to even the frame. The set saw 10 different tie scores after this point, and a kill from senior
Chris Vaughan put Stevens up 21-20. The Hawks tallied the next three before a Vaughan kill ended the streak. New Paltz ended the first set to go up 1-0 in the match.
The Ducks changed things around in the second set, bringing in senior
Etan Bennett in the middle. The move immediately paid dividends, as Bennett notched a kill and a solo block on consecutive point to put Stevens up 4-2. The Ducks were able to keep a four point lead through opening part of the set, but New Paltz used a 3-0 spurt after the media timeout to cut the deficit to one.
The Hawks clawed back and used a 4-1 run to go ahead 21-19 and forced Stevens into a timeout. The timeout worked as the Ducks countered with their own 4-1 run to take the lead. New Paltz scored two straight to bring up set point, but a service error evened the match. Stevens would score the final three markers to even the match at one.
New Paltz stormed out of the gate in set three, tallying nine of the first 12 points. A kill by junior
Jordan Stuart cut the gap back down to four at 15-11, but the Hawks scored four of the next five. Ferriter ended the run with a kill, and the Ducks within six to stave off set point. But Steven Woessner drilled a kill home to give New Paltz a 2-1 edge.
A Hawks service error in the fourth stanza brought the frame to 9-7 in favor of the higher seed, and they extended the lead with four straight markers. A kill by Vaughan put the Ducks down five, but New Paltz ended the match with five straight points and sent them to the National Championship match.
The difference was the last two sets, as Stevens hit .111 and .143, while the Hawks hit .346 and .522 over the final two. Vaughan had 16 kills in his final match, while senior
John Eddins handed out 43 assists. Bennett, Eddins and Stuart each tallied four total blocks in the setback.
Joe Norman finished with 18 kills while Christian Smith handed out 55 assists.
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
