HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 28, 2018)  – Sophomore David Lehman recorded a team-high 15 kills and graduate student Gabe Shankweiler added nine kills and a team-high 10 digs as the third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated No. 9 New York University 3-1 (26-28, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19) Wednesday night in a United Volleyball Conference match played at Canavan Arena. It was the second meeting between the programs in the last 14 days.

Freshman Ryan Byrne came off the bench to provide a first-set spark for the Ducks and finished the night with a career-best nine kills and six blocks. The victory was the fourth straight for the Ducks, who improved to 13-3 on the year. Stevens remains perfect in UVC play with a 3-0 record. The four-set win was out of the ordinary for the local rivals: each of the five previous meetings between the teams went a full five sets.

Evan Lindley matched Lehman's output with 15 kills to lead the Violets. The loss was the third in the last four matches for NYU, who fell to 7-5 on the year and 0-3 in conference play.

Volleys and Points

• Of the four sets between the teams, the opening set was by far the most competitive.
• Back-and-forth play dominated the early portion of the set, before the home team slowly began to separate from the guests.
• A stretch of four out of a possible five points helped to open a three-point advantage for Stevens and the Ducks would open a a six-point lead after a kill from senior Thomas Burrell.
• After Burrell's point, NYU rallied, scoring the next seven points to take a 21-20 lead. Two straight blocks helped NYU jump in front.
• The Ducks again steadied the course and forced ties at 24 and 25, by an Andrew Zhu kill and an Alex Li block closed out the first set.
• The second frame saw the guests jump out to an early three-point lead, but consecutive errors helped Stevens reach a 5-5 tie. 
• The teams alternated points, coming to 11 ties before the Ducks went on an 8-3 run to close the set. Three NYU errors and a big triple block by Byrne, Burrell and junior Jacob Patterson keyed the stretch.
• With the teams deadlocked at 1, it was again NYU that went on an early run, scoring four straight points to take a 6-4 lead after a Zhu kill.
• A 7-1 run followed with the block and Shankweiler's right arm each accounting for two points.
• A Zhu service error and a Byrne set-down of a Patterson feed opened a 19-10 lead for the Ducks.
• NYU attempted to rally, drawing to within one point at 22-21, but kills from Lehman and Burrell brought the Ducks to set point and another NYU miscue closed the set for Stevens.
• The final set saw Lindley give NYU an early advantage, setting down a Connor Keowen set.
• NYU would go on to open a 3-0. The Ducks rallied to score four consecutive points to take their first lead of the set and force an NYU timeout. Byrne served three consecutive aces to fuel the run. The freshman outside hitter finished with a match-high four.
• The Ducks opened as large as an 11-point advantage before NYU began to rally.
• A Talkov kill and a Stevens error allowed NYU to grab a little momentum.
• With Li at the serve, the Violets reeled off eight straight point to close within 23-19.
• Byrne set down a Patterson set to right the ship and force match point. The Ducks only needed one match point to close out the match.

Match Point

• A David Lehman kill closed out the match. It was Lehman's second kill of the final frame.

Inside the Numbers    

• Stevens held a .150-.109 edge in attack percentage. The .150 hit percentage is Stevens' lowest of the season.
• Each team recorded eight aces. 
• Stevens recorded 43 digs on the evening. 
• Despite the final score, NYU recorded six more points than the hosting Ducks.
• NYU made 31 attack errors, 16 service errors, four ball-handling errors and two blocking errors.
• Seven different players recorded at least one kill for Stevens.

Unsung Heroes

• Burrell and Diamond combined to record 10 block assists, helping Stevens to 11 blocks on the night.

Coach Speak

• "A big conference win, as well as a bounce-back from our last non-conference match with NYU, where we fell in heartbreaking fashion."
• "Our defense and serving was the difference for us tonight. Our servers were able to keep them off balance, allowing our defense to set up behind great blocks. We finished with eight aces, led by two freshmen in that department."
• [David Lehman] had a solid match, remaining consistent throughout the match, but in my opinion, Ryan Byrne came in and changed the match in every aspect of the game. The lift we were able to get from Ryan, as well as others off the bench, played a huge role in our success tonight."

Up Next

• No. 3 Men's Volleyball welcomes Lancaster Bible College to Canavan Arena Saturday for a non-conference match. The game is being held in conjunction with Stevens' THON event.
• Live stats and video links on StevensDucks.com.

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