HONOLULU, Hawaii (January 4, 2018)  – While the East Coast battles Winter Storm Grayson, the second-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team will take on the University of Hawaii in Honolulu tonight to open the 2018 season. The match takes place at 7:00 p.m. local time (midnight on the East Coast) and is part of the first-ever Texaco Rainbow Warrior Classic.

The Matchup
Tonight's contest marks the second-ever meeting between Stevens and Hawaii. The teams opened the 2015 season, with the hosts walking away with a hard-fought 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-23) victory. Then-senior Ryan Seifert led the Ducks with a match-high 15 kills. Four players (Ian Bennett, Thomas Burrell, Cagan Friend and Gabe Shankweiler), along with now-assistant coach Jordan Stuart were on the 2015 team that won 31 games en route to winning Stevens first-ever team national championship.

UH Game Notes | Live Stats | Video Stream | Audio Link | Texaxo Rainbow Warrior Classic Preview (Courtesy of University of Hawaii Athletic Communications)

The Ducks will also take on the University of Southern California and Juniata College at the event. It will be the first meeting between the Ducks and the Trojans, while it will be the 21st meeting between Stevens and Juniata.

Scouting Hawaii
Hawaii is coming off a 27-6 season, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time and  matched the most wins in program history. The team returns three starters and 11 letter winners from one season ago, including two American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Americans. A trio of Rainbow Warriors earned Preseason All-American accolades from Off The Block (Stijin van Tilburg and Larry Tuileta (First Team) and Rado Parapunov (Honorable Mention)) and the team was picked to finish second in the inaugural Big West Conference Coaches Poll. UH finished fourth in the final AVCA Division I-II poll and third in the program's final season of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Hawaii finished last season ranked among the nation's leaders in all of the major statistical categories. The Warriors led the nation in blocks per set (2.73), ranked No. 2 in kills per set (13.43), No. 3 in assists per set (12.50), No. 6 in hitting percentage (.319) and digs per set (9.05), No. 9 in attacks per set (27.53), No. 11 in opponent hitting percentage (.223), and No. 19 in aces per set (1.22). 

The Schedule
Stevens will again play a highly competitive schedule with 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA, beginning with Saturday-evening's match with Juniata. The Ducks will play 10 matches in the friendly confines of Canavan Arena, where Stevens has only dropped two matches since 2014.

Nine matches await Stevens in the highly-competitive United Volleyball Conference. Five teams from the UVC were ranked in AVCA DIII Top 15 Preseason Poll.

Key Returners
Stevens returns 15 letter winners, five starters and both liberos from a team that went 31-6 a season ago and reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals. The Ducks finished the season ranked third in the final AVCA poll.

Four players return that received postseason accolades. Graduate student Gabe Shankweiler returns on the outside one season after earning First Team All-UVC and First Team All-ECAC honors. The Allentown, Pennsylvania native ranked among the national leaders in hitting percentage and aces per set. Senior middle hitter Thomas Burrell moved from sixth to fourth in the country in blocks per set as a junior, earning Second Team AVCA All-American status. Sophomore opposite David Lehman will again be looked upon to provide a strong attacking presence after leading the team with 361 kills as a freshman en route to being named a Second Team All-American and earning a spot on the All-UVC Second Team. Lastly, junior setter Jacob Patterson finished 14th in the country with 1,072 assists as the Los Gatos, California native was named an Honorable Mention by the UVC.

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