NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 8, 2017)  – Senior Gabe Shankweiler recorded a season-high 19 kills and sophomore Dylan DeBoer added 18, as the fourth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Volleyball team won its seventh straight match with a five set victory (27-29, 25-15, 28-26, 19-25, 15-13) Wednesday. 

Junior Thomas Burrell added eight kills and a match-high 10 blocks for the Ducks, who improved to 18-2 on the season. 

Steven Tarquinio matched Shankweiler's output with 19 kills, but the Hawks committed 52 errors in falling to 15-4.

Volleys and Points

• Stevens allowed the Hawks to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, before rebounding to tie the set at six,
• The teams would alternate points until Stevens appeared to seize control of the set with kills by DeBoer and sophomore setter Jacob Patterson and an error by Ben Crusinberry.
• Hunter rallied with five unanswered points to take a 20-17 lead.
• The Ducks were able to force another tie on a kill by senior Ian Bennett and a Hunter attack error.
• DeBoer appeared to have the set in hand for Stevens after a kill and an ace opened a 27-26 lead, however, serving for the set, the Vernon Hills, Illinois native sailed the ball out of bounds to return the serve to Hunter.
• Back-to-back attack errors gave the first set to Hunter.
• In the second set, the teams alternated two-point swings before Stevens reeled off six straight points (four errors and kills by Bennett and Shankweiler) to take a 19-11 lead.
• Stevens kept Hunter at arm's length as the teams traded points back and forth. With the Ducks leading 21-14, Shankweiler notched a pair of kills, Burrell and Bennett teamed up for a block, and Tarquinio committed an error to give the Ducks the second set and tie the match.
• The teams alternated three-point runs before Stevens used two attack errors and kills from Jacob Stillman, Carpenter and Bennett to open a 22-17 lead.
• As was the case over the opening sets, the teams alternated points throughout the third set.
• The set featured 16 ties and two lead changes. The Ducks didn't hold their first lead of the set until 22-21.
• After Hunter claimed a 26-25 edge following a Shankweiler service error, DeBoer kept the Ducks in the set with a pair of kills on feeds by senior Jordan Stuart and senior Scott Russell.
• Hunter's sixth attack error of the set gave Stevens a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The teams alternated three-point runs to open the fourth set. 
• Hunter grabbed early control on a block assist by Crusinberry and Brandon Kohler.
• Leading 9-8, Hunter reeled off five straight points to take a 14-8 lead.
• A block assist by Shankweiler, Burrell, and senior Alex Carpenter kept the Ducks alive in the set.
• Back-to-back kills by Tarquinio and Kohler closed out the fourth set and forced the teams into a deciding set. It was the fifth time men's volleyball was forced into a fifth set.
• The teams traded the first four points of the set as they had done throughout the first four sets.
• Hunter took advantage of three straight errors to take a 5-2 lead.
• Kills by DeBoer and Stuart surrounded errors of both teams to pull Stevens to within 6-5.
• Back-to-back kills gave Hunter a 9-6 lead with all of the match momentum on the Hawks side of the court.
• The Ducks quickly turned the set around with six consecutive points on two kills by Shankweiler and four errors. Burrell has a block solo and a block assist (with Shankweiler) during this run.
• Hunter would draw to within 13-12 in the final set before DeBoer took over to close the match.

Match Point

• DeBoer notched his fourth kill of the decisive fifth set to secure the victory for the Ducks..

Inside the Numbers

• Burrell notched double-digit blocks for the second time in four matches.
• In addition to leading the team in kills, Shankweiler had a team-high 13 digs to record his first double-double of the season. DeBoer totaled 10 digs to notch his second double-double of the year.
• Patterson dished out 40 assists with a ball handling error or a setting error.
• The teams attacked at nearly an identical percentage (.193-.162).
• The Ducks outblocked the Hawks, 12-7.
• Each tired fired three service aces.

Coach Speak

• "Everyone had some great moments and some not good ones. The takeaway was that the team fought hard in the fifth after being down and won it."

Up Next
The Ducks head north for a United Volleyball Conference tri-match with No. 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Penn State-Behrend on Mar. 11. 

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