POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (April 14, 2017)  – Sophomore Dylan DeBoer recorded 12 kills and junior Thomas Burrell nearly had a double-double, but the third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology fell to No. 10 New York University in five sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-18, 15-11) Friday in the United Volleyball Conference semifinals.

Senior Gabe Shankweiler added nine kills, five blocks and 10 digs for the Ducks, who fell to 29-5 on the season. Evan Lindley led all players with 25 kills for the Bobcats, who improved to 17-9. NYU would go on to defeat SUNY-New Paltz Saturday afternoon to receive the conference's automatic bid.

It was the third meeting of the season, between the teams, with each match entering a fifth set.

NYU would go on to be crowned the UVC champion, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. Stevens will now await the NCAA selection process to determine if the Ducks earned one of the at-large bids to the tournament. 

Thomas Burrell was named to the All-Tournament Team. 

Volleys and Points

• After Stevens won the coin toss to take possession of the serve to begin the match, Alex Li converted a Derrick Chiu set for the first point of the match.
• A David Lehman kill was Stevens' first point of the match.
• Two Lindley kills and a block gave NYU control of the opening set at 4-1.
• NYU reeled off three straight points to take a 10-4.
• The teams alternated the next nine points until NYU scored three consecutive_two coming on Stevens attack errrors_to pull ahead 17-9.
• Stevens rallied for four consecutive points on kills by DeBoer and Shankweiler and two block assists by Jordan Stuart and Shankweiler.
• After NYU scored the next three points, Stuart tallied an ace and a kill as Stevens scored four straight points to pull within 20-17.
• Down 24-20, Stevens took advantage of two NYU errors to stave off two set points, but Li converted a Chiu set to bookend the opening set.
• The early part of the second set was a back-and-forth-affair as the teams alternated the set's first 12 points.
• Stevens gained control of the setting, earning six out of a possible eight points on three block assists, a Burrell kill and two NYU errors. 
• NYU rallied for six straight points to tie the set at 19, before three consecutive errors_the final coming on a Stevens block assist_put Stevens back in front at 22-19.
• After a NYU timeout, the teams alternated the final five points of the game, with a DeBoer kill evening out the match.
• Jacob Patterson's ace opened the third-set scoring and a Shankweiler kill opened a 2-0 lead.
• NYU tied the set at 5 on an Evan Lindley kill.
• Stevens gained control of the set with four consecutive points, punctuated by a pair of Lehman kills.
• After NYU called timeout to halt the Stevens run, the teams traded the next 12 points. Stevens extended its lead to 21-15 after a Stuart block. 
• Stuart converted a Russell set for his third point of the set to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Continuing to show how evenly matched the teams are, NYU and Stevens traded points to a 9-9 tie. 
• After the Ducks forced the 9-9 tie, NYU earned five of the next six points to take a 14-10 lead. 
• A Stuart kill drew the Ducks within 14-12, but NYU reeled off three points to push its lead to 17-12.
• A Stuart kill and two NYU errors trimmed the deficit to 18-16, but the Bobcats scored six of the set's final seven points to force a deciding fifth set.
• Back-to-back block assists by Burrell and Lehman gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead in the race to 15 points.
• The teams alternated the next six points before NYU reeled off eight of the next nine points to take a commanding 11-6 lead.
• Two NYU errors and a block assist by Patterson and Burrell drew the Ducks to within two (11-9).
• A Lindley kill and a DeBoer attack error produced match point for NYU.

Match Point

• Neil Ferraro's second kill of the set closed out the match.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens hit a blistering .538 (16-2-26) in the third set.
• The Ducks forced NYU into a zero attack percentage in the second set (11-11-31).
• In the final set, Stevens attacked at a -.100 clip (3-5-20). For the season, the Ducks attacked at a .305 percentage.
• Burrell's nine blocks helped the Ducks gain an 11-8 edge at the net. NYU led the other statistical categories.
• Shankweiler was held without an ace for only the ninth time this season.
• Lindley's 25 kills was the highest single-game total by an opponent this season.
• Sophomore Jacob Patterson and senior Scott Russell combined for 54 assists.

Coach Speak (Martinez)

• "A tough loss. It was a hard fought match, and in matches like this, it comes down to execution and [NYU] executed better than we did in the final set."
• "[NYU] managed their errors better than we did."
• "Our guys fought hard to the final point - we just could not get it done in the end."

Up Next

• Stevens will await the tournament selection process. If selected for one of the at-large bids, the Ducks will play in the opening round Saturday, April 22 at a location to be determined.

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