UNION, N.J. (January 18, 2020) – In his first action of the 2020 season, three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American
David Lehman registered 12 kills and hit .750 to help the third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-5, 25-23) sweep of RV Kean University in the final contest of The Clash at Kean inside Hardwood Arena Saturday.
The Ducks hit .375 as a team in the match and out blocked the Cougars 7-3 to open the season 2-0 and avenge one of just six losses from the 2019 season. After Friday night's 3-1 win over Elms College the Ducks have now knocked off back-to-back opponents who defeated Stevens last season to open the 2020 campaign.
Lehman, the 2019 United Volleyball Conference Player of the Year, added five digs and a pair of service aces to his ledger as well. Senior
Jonathan Frenzel was also solid in the contest, producing seven blocks and seven kills in the victory.
The Cougars did not have a player finish in double figures in kills as Jared Ray led the way with six to go along with seven digs.
In total, 10 different players for Stevens registered at least one kill while 11 different players produced a dig.
Volleys and Points
- The teams traded points back-and-forth throughout the first set with neither squad leading by more than two points halfway through the set.
- Trailing 19-18, the Ducks went on a pair of 3-0 runs to set up a set point at 24-21.
- The Cougars fended off the first two Duck attempts to close the set but could not stave off a third as Lehman put down his seventh kill of the set to seal the win 25-23.
- The second set was a dominant effort for Stevens from the start, with the Ducks winning four of the first six points of the stanza.
- Leading 4-2, the Ducks went on to win 19 of the next 20 points in the set, highlighted by six kills by Frenzel and five from Lehman to put Stevens ahead 23-3.
- Junior Ryan Byrne closed the set with a kill just four points later in a 25-5 victory.
- The third and final set was another back-and-forth affair as Kean was able to take a slight edge at 12-9 early on.
- Stevens responded quickly, however, with a 4-1 run to tie the contest at 13.
- Trailing 18-17, Stevens went on a 6-2 run to take a 23-20 lead late in the set.
- The Cougars were able to climb back within one a pair of times, including fending off a set point, but could not hold it off any longer as the Ducks sealed the 25-23 win on a Kean attack error.
Match Point
- After fending off a match point at 24-22, the Cougars could not force the contest into extra time after Ray was unable to finish a kill.
Inside the Numbers
- Stevens hit a whopping .609 while holding Kean to -.261 in the 20-point second set victory.
- The Ducks finished the contest with five service aces, compared to none by the Cougars.
- Freshmen Chris Varseveld and Percy Bickford made their collegiate debuts in the match. Varseveld finished with four kills on just five swings while Bickford registered his first career points on a service ace in the third set.
- Senior Grant Burden led the way for the Ducks in assists with 27 while freshman Louden Moran produced the first 10 assists of his collegiate career.
- Senior Michael Snajder led Stevens with nine digs in the contest.
- Dating back to the 2019 season, Lehman has now produced double-digit kills in the last 15 contests he has appeared in.
Unsung Hero
- Ryan Byrne filled up the stat sheet in the win with seven digs, six kills and four blocks.
Next Up
- The Ducks will travel to Providence, Rhode Island for the Johnson and Wales Quad Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday Jan. 25.
- The first contest of the quad will be against Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m.
- Stevens will also have a chance to avenge another 2019 loss, this time against the team that knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament, University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.
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