PROVIDENCE, R.I. (January 24, 2020) – Trailing 12-10 in the fifth and final set, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team scored five consecutive points to earn a thrilling 3-2 match victory over Massachusetts Institute of Technology Friday night in the JWU Quad at Wildcat Center.

After dropping the first set of the contest, Stevens won both the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the contest. MIT responded by grabbing the fourth set to send the match to a decisive fifth set, but the Ducks were not to be denied as they won 15-12 to remain undefeated.

The Ducks were led offensively by senior David Lehman and junior Ryan Byrne who both finished with double-digit kills as Lehman finished with 22 and Byrne added 13 in the victory.
MIT, who received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, got a 20-kills, 11-dig effort from Jack Yurkanin as well as 15 kills from Troy Oliveira.

Dating back to the 2018 season, Stevens has now won eight of their last nine contests that advanced to five sets.

In the fifth and final set of the contest, the Ducks got a pair of kills from junior Jack Bittker as well as a kill by Byrne as a part of a 5-0 rally to close the match. Seniors Jonathan Frenzel and Grant Burden were then able to combine for a huge double block on Yurkanin's 44th total attack attempt to seal the victory.

Volleys and Points

• The Engineers came out of the gates on fire, scoring four of the first five points of the opening set to take an early 4-1 lead.
• After Stevens chipped away at the lead and tied the contest at 17, MIT responded with a 5-1 run to swell the lead to 22-18.
• The Ducks were able to use a 4-1 run of their own to get back to within one but could not avoid a second set point as Yurkanin found the court for the seventh time in the set to seal the 25-23 win for MIT.
• Stevens fell behind 4-1 once again to open the second set but rattled off three straight points while trailing 7-6 to take an 8-7 edge.
• Trailing 11-10, the Ducks scored four consecutive points to grab a 14-11 lead they would not relinquish.
• The Engineers were able to cut the deficit to one on two separate occasions, including at 16-15.
• The Ducks closed the set by scoring nine of the final 13 points, however, to win 25-19 and tie the match at one.
• Stevens dominated the third set from the start, opening the stanza on a 6-2 run and never trailing in the set.
• After MIT cut the score to 7-5, the Ducks scored four straight points to increase the lead to six.
• The Engineers were never able to cut the deficit to less than four from that point on, losing the set 25-15 and giving Stevens a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Ducks looked primed to take the fourth set much like they did in the third, taking an early 6-2 edge.
• MIT did not flinch, however, answering with a 5-2 run of their own to get back within one.
• Trailing 12-8, the Engineers went on a 7-2 run to take a 15-14 lead for the first time since the second set.
• Stevens responded and were able to take a 17-16 edge in the match but could not grow the lead to more than one as the two teams traded 13 consecutive points back-and-forth to lead to a 23-23 tie.
• MIT then got back-to-back kills from Yurkanin to close the set and send it to five.
• The Engineers threatened to run away with the decisive set, opening on a 4-1 run.
• Stevens used a quick 3-1 mini run to cut the deficit to one multiple times but could not tie the contest until tying the match at 12 as a part of the 5-0 run to close the contest with a 15-12 win.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens hit .293 overall in the match, including .421 in the third and .412 in the final set, while MIT hit .220 in the contest.
• The Ducks outblocked the Engineers 15-6 while also holding a 9-4 edge in service aces.
• The block party for Stevens was led by Frenzel who finished with eight total blocks.
• Burden was all over the court in the victory, producing a double-double with 43 assists and a team-high 10 digs to go along with six blocks.
• Lehman hit .381 in the victory and has now produced double-digit kills in 16 consecutive matches dating back to the 2019 season. The three-time AVCA All-American also led the team with a career-high four service aces.
• Sophomore Jack Fyda finished the contest with three service aces, the most he has produced since his career-high 11 aces against Dean College on March 30, 2019.

Unsung Hero

• Playing in just his second career collegiate match, freshman Chris Varseveld registered four blocks, four kills and a .471 attack percentage.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Patrick Dorywalski)

• "David Lehman, Ryan Byrne and Grant Burden led the team in points and were our leaders on the court. The team fought hard in all five sets against a very talented and disciplined team. Our blocking made the difference, especially at crunch time in the fifth set."

Next Up

• The JWU Quad concludes tomorrow when the Ducks take on both No. 14 University of California Santa Cruz as well as Johnson & Wales University.
• Stevens first faces off with UC Santa Cruz at 1:00 p.m. looking to exact some revenge from the 3-0 loss against the Banana Slugs in the NCAA Semifinals last season.
• The Ducks will then take on tournament host JWU at 3:00 p.m.
• Live stats and video for both contests will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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