CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (March 11, 2017)  – Senior Gabe Shankweiler tallied 25 kills and freshman David Lehman totaled 23 kills and eight blocks as the No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Volleyball team swept a United Volleyball Conference tri-match hosted by No. 13  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Saturday. 

In the opening match, sophomore Dylan DeBoer had six kills and junior Thomas Burrell recorded five blocks as the Ducks swept Penn State Behrend (25-14, 25-20, 25-16).

In the second match, Shankweiler recorded a match-high 18 kills and sophomore Jacob Patterson dished out 52 assists as Stevens closed the tri-match with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19) victory over the hosting Engineers. The victories improved Stevens record to 20-2 overall and 3-2 in UVC play. The Ducks have won nine straight matches.

MIT defeated the Lions 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) in the tri's opening game to finish the day 18-6 overall and 3-2 in conference. Penn State Behrend fell to 6-10 overall and 0-4 in the UVC.

Volleys and Points

• Lehman's first kill of the afternoon gave Stevens the first point of the opening match.
• After the teams alternated points, four straight errors led to a 12-6 lead for the Ducks, punctuated by block assists from Burrell, Lehman, and Shankweiler, and Lehman and Burrell.
• Stevens reeled off four straight points with Lehman at the serve on four consecutive kills. 
• The Stevens block closed out the first set with back-to-back blocks.
• The second set was a back-and-forth affair until the Ducks reeled off four straight points on three kills and a Jordan Stuart ace.
• Alternating three-point rallies led to Stevens holding a 23-17 edge.
• Two Stevens errors pulled Penn State to within four, but a service error returned the serve to the Ducks. The Lions had six serving miscues over the course of the match.
• A DeBoer kill closed out the second set.
• Penn State reeled off the first three points of the final set - its largest lead of the match.
• Two kills by Lehman and one from Grant Burden pulled Stevens ahead at 8-6.
• Two kills by Jacob Stillman opened an 11-7 advantage for the Ducks.
• With Scott Russell at the serve, Stevens extended its lead to 16-8 on another pair of Stillman kills.
• Two kills by Mitch Brooks extended the lead to 21-14. Stevens would secure four of the match's final six points.
• A back-and forth first set featured six ties to open play.
• Leading 13-12, the Ducks reeled off seven of the next 10 points to take a 20-15 lead. Stevens went on the run courtesy of four kills and three MIT errors.
• MIT pulled to within 22-18 before a Stuart kill returned the serve to Stevens.
• Shankweiler's third kill of the set closed out the game for Stevens.
• The Ducks combined a strong block with precise attacks to go on an 8-1 run en route to a 21-9 lead. 
• Stevens forced MIT into six attack errors and four service errors and closed out the second set courtesy of a Thomas Nelson serving miscue.
• After four ties to start the third set, a Thomas Nelson kill and a Shankweiler attack error gave the Engineers a 7-5 edge.
• MIT would keep Stevens at a comfortable distance until extending its lead to 16-11 on a double block by Skyler Kaufman and Martin Krasuski.
• After Stevens recorded consecutive points, a Tavish Smith kill brought set point to MIT.
• Shankweiler and DeBoer recorded back-to-back kills to fight off two set points and bring Stevens to within two (24-22), but a service error closed the set for MIT.
• After alternating points with MIT to begin the final, a block assist from Lehman and Burrell punctuated a four-point rally to give Stevens a 5-1 edge.
• MIT closed to three points or less on seven occasions in the final set, but DeBoer notched back-to-back kills to get Stevens to match point.

Match Point

• Thomas Burrell's second kill of the set closed out the match with the Lions.
• David Lehman's fourth kill of the set gave the Ducks a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens tallied six aces against the Lions, while not committing any receive errors.
• The Ducks totaled 16 blocks over the two matches.
• Stevens attacked over .500 percent in the first and third sets against Penn State Behrend.
• Senior Alexander Carpenter notched five kills on seven attacks vs. the Lions.
• Shankweiler's 18 kills against MIT were the most by any player in either match.
• Burrell attacked at a .545 (8-2-11) percentage vs. MIT.
• The Ducks forced the Lions into a .000 (6-6-22) attack percentage in the third set.
• Sophomore Jacob Stillman had five kills on eight assists (.500) with an ace against PSU.

Coach Speak

• "In the third set (against Penn State Behrend), I thought the players on the court were outstanding and we received contributions from every player that saw the court."
• "The combination of good setting and powerful swings really put us over the top."
• "Against MIT, I thought our blocking, especially in the fourth set, was critical in the win. Over the last five matches, our blocks have been amazing!"
• "In the second match, Gabe, Jacob, Tom, and Dave came up big for us in a big match. Each had good numbers and high attack percentages."
• "After dropping the third set, we rebounded well in the fourth, only committing one serving error."
• "Our setter, Jacob Patterson, was stellar."

Up Next

• After ten days off, the Ducks return to the court for a non-conference match with Kean University on March 22 in Union, New Jersey. It will be the first of back-to-back games with NJAC opponents.

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