UNION, N.J. (January 26, 2019)  – Junior David Lehman totaled 20 kills on 34 attempts with just four errors as No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated both North Central College and Endicott College Saturday at The Clash at Kean, hosted by Kean University.

The victories improved Stevens' record to 4-0, while North Central fell to 6-4 and the Gulls wrapped up play 3-2.

In the program's first-ever meeting with North Central, Lehman registered a match-high 11 kills and senior Dylan DeBoer filled the stat sheet with six kills, four blocks and an ace as the Ducks topped the Cardinals in three sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-19). Bozhidar led North Central with seven kills.

Against Endicott DeBoer recorded a team-high 10 kills while the Ducks hit a season-high .337 as Stevens defeated the Gulls in four sets (25-18, 25-15, 16-25, 25-18). Donovan Dey recorded a match-high 14 kills, but Endicott totaled 14 attack errors over the opening two sets in dropping its 12th straight to Stevens.

Volleys and Points (North Central)

• Stevens jumped out an early lead after consecutive a double block by DeBoer and junior Jonathan Frenzel and a Cardinal setting error.
• The Ducks extended their lead with a four-point run and kills from Lehman and senior Cooper Diamond forced a North Central timeout.
• Another pair of Cardinal errors pushed Stevens' advantage to nine. 
• North Central pulled to within four on a double block by Kolev and Anthony Kluzak, but Frenzel set down a Jacob Patterson set, which was followed by a tandem block closed out the frame.
• Thanks to a strong presence at the net and a controlling serve-receive game, North Central struggled to find offensive consistency throughout the match. The Cardinals committed 22 attacks errors on the afternoon and totaled 43 errors on the day.
• The second frame saw North Central jump out to the early lead, scoring three straight points to take a 4-2 lead.
• Lehman set down a Patterson set to spark a four-point run, with Diamond finding an opening in the North Central defense to close the stretch.
• After alternating the next series of points, Stevens took control of the set with four straight points, with kills by Frenzel and sophomore Jack Bittker surrounding a pair of North Central miscues.
• Consecutive Diamond service aces gave Stevens its largest lead of the set at 21-14.
• North Central would post a modest rally to close within four, but a service error closed out the set.
• Stevens hit .360 (14-5-25) in the second set, the best hitting percentage in a single set by either side.
• The final frame saw the Cardinals gain an early advantage for the second straight set, before the Ducks seized control on back-to-back double blocks, with Diamond pairing with Lehman and then DeBoer to stifle the North Central offense.
• Of thier 25 points in the set, the Ducks received 14 courtesy of North Central errors.
• Stevens scored three of the final four points to close out the match.

Match Point (North Central)

• A double block by Diamond and Patterson capped a two-point run that closed the match. 

Volleys and Points (Endicott)

• Despite the final score, the match was extremely competitive, featuring 25 ties and eight lead changes.
• In the opening set, Stevens recorded just eight kills, but only made two errors to hit .286. By contrast, Stevens nearly forced Endicott in a negative attack percentage (8-7-22).
• Four straight errors accounted for the first points of the match. The first point was earned on a Diamond kill.
• Back-and-forth play defined the first half of the opening set. Endicott was the first team to collect more than a one-point lead after stringing together four straight points to take an 11-7 lead. 
• The Ducks jumped back in front with a five-point run, which was punctuated by consecutive blocks.
• Stevens reeled off seven straight points, the longest run of the season, with sophomore Ryan Byrne serving four straight aces.
• An Endicott error brought set point and Byrne closed it out, knocking down a Grant Burden set.
• The second set saw the Gulls jump in front, taking advantage of a pair of Duck errors. The attack error that lead to Endicott's second point of the frame would be the only one for the Ducks in set.
• Stevens eliminated Endicott's early advantage, going on an 8-1 run, with Lehman and DeBoer combining for three kills in the stretch.
• The Ducks would open as much as a nine-point lead after consecutive kills by DeBoer.
• Lehman and Frenzel knocked down Burden sets as the Ducks scored three of the final four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Ducks collected the first two points of the third set; jumping in front at the start of the match for the first time in the match.
• Endicott strung together its best sequence of the match, using a 7-1 run to jump in front 7-3.
• The Gulls opened up as much as a nine-point lead before consecutive errors drew the Ducks within seven.
• Bryn Lipton set down a Jeremy Doski set to bring Endicott to set point and Jay McGhee pinned a Dey pass to close the frame.
• Lipton sent a ball out of bounds to open the fourth set, but Endicott strung together three straight points to open a 7-4 lead.
• A pair of Lehman kills bookended a Doski attack error to force a tie at seven.
• The teams alternated the next series of points before DeBoer and Diamond knocked down Burden passes to put Stevens in front for good.
• Endicott would pull to within one at 14-13, but Burden fed his pin hitters on three straight possessions to reclaim a comfortable margin.
• The Ducks scored seven of the final 10 points to close out the match.

Match Point (Endicott)

• Diamond set down a Burden pass to finish the final set.

Unsung Heroes

• Setters Jacob Patterson and Grant Burden combined for 66 assists over the two matches with just one ball-handling error and no setting errors.

Inside the Numbers (North Central)

• Stevens outhit North Central .301-.115.
• The Ducks forced the Cardinals into a .000 (11-11-35) hitting percentage in the third set.
• Lehman was the only player to reach double figures in kills.
• Bittker and Diamond each recorded two aces. As a team, North Central only had one ace.
• DeBoer led all players with four blocks. As a team, the Ducks were credited with six blocks against five for the Cardinals.
• Fyda collected his first collegiate point with a first-set ace.
• Freshman Stedman van Arsdale made his collegiate debut.

Inside the Numbers (Endicott)

• Stevens outhit Endicott .337-.178 and hit a season-high .500 (11-1-20) in the second set. 
• The Ducks served one more ace than the Gulls (7-6).
• Each team handed out 38 assists. 
• Diamond posted a match-high three blocks. The Ducks totaled five on the afternoon.
• Burden dished out a match-high 35 assists.
• Junior Jonathan Frenzel totaled seven attacks on 10 attempts without an error.
• van Arsdale collected his first collegiate point with a third-set kill.
• Lehman finished one dig shy of his first double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high nine.
• Junior Kyle Warnock record a kill on seven attempts in his season debut.
• Freshman Alexei Nikiforov made his collegiate debut.

From the Courts

• "We came up with a game plan against North Central and were able to execute it all match. Solid play all-around, with good middle play, especially in the second and third sets. Against Endicott, Ryan was amazing in the opening set, with four aces in a row and going 3-for-5 on attacks. The team energy fed off his success. Dylan and Dave then caught fire on the pins in the second set leaving our middles wide open, We struggled a bit in the third set with some different players on our side and a new lineup from Endicott and we had a little trouble containing Dey. Finally, I thought Jack Fyda was GREAT as a serving specialist throughout the day - he came off the bench, ripped on the ball, to either ace or get our opponents out of system. " - assistant coach Austin Voges

Up Next

• No. 2 Men's Volleyball returns to Harwood Arena for a non-conference match on Feb. 1 against #4 Kean before heading south for a tri-match at Eastern Mennonite University the next day.
• Live stats and video links at StevensDucks.com

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