BROOKLYN, N.Y. (February 26, 2020) – The third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team continued its grueling stretch Wednesday as they played their fourth top-15 opponent in the last six games as they fell 3-0 to No. 1 New York University at Palladium Athletic Center.

Senior David Lehman led the way offensively for the Ducks with 14 kills while reigning Middle Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week senior Michael Snajder registered double-digit kills for the third time in the last four matches as the Ducks moved to 4-2 against ranked opponents this season.

NYU hit .390 in the match and got double-digit kills from three different players, including Evan Lindley who produced 13 kills while hitting .458 to go along with seven digs. The Royals also held a huge advantage at the net defensively, producing five blocks compared to none for Stevens.

Sophomore Stedman Van Arsdale was the most efficient player on the court for the Ducks, finishing with a .417 attack percentage after putting down a career-high seven kills on 12 swings.

As a team, Stevens hit .256 and committed 16 total errors compared to 12 for NYU in the 25-22, 25-18, 25-23 defeat.

The top-ranked team in the land, the Royals are now a perfect 12-0 and have only dropped a total of four sets on the season.

It is the first time this season the Ducks have lost a match to a team they lost to in 2019. Previously, Stevens was 5-0 in those revenge matchups this season, with wins over No. 12 Elms College, Kean University, No. 14 University of California-Santa Cruz and No. 2 SUNY-New Paltz.

Volleys and Points

• Trailing 11-7 early in set one, the Ducks got kills from Jack Bittker and Lehman as well as back-to-back service aces from Ryan Byrne to tie the contest at 11.
• Holding a 15-14 edge, NYU used a 7-2 run featuring three kills from Lindley to take a 21-17 advantage in the set.
• The Ducks climbed back to within two at 22-20 and the Royals answered with back-to-back points of their own to force a set point.
• Stevens fought off the first two set points but could not fend off a third as Lindley put down his fifth kill of the set to give NYU a 25-22 win.
• The Royals came out of the gates hot in the second set, scoring five of the first six points to take an early four point edge.
• The run did not stop there, however, as NYU then rattled off six consecutive points to take an 11-3 lead.
• The Ducks responded immediately with four straight point of their own to cut the deficit back to four.
• With the score 14-8, Stevens went on a 5-1 run thanks to two kills from Jonathan Frenzel and one more by Bittker to make the score 15-13.
• NYU was not to be denied in the set as they answered with four consecutive points to re-extend the lead to six.
• After trading points back-and-forth for the next nine points, the Royals finally put the set away with two straight points to close the set and win 25-18.
• Falling behind 4-2 in the third and final set, the Ducks took the lead with a 4-0 run highlighted by kills from Frenzel and Byrne.
• NYU rallied back with three straight points to take a 7-6 edge and the two teams traded points back-and-forth throughout the rest of the set, with neither team leading by more than two.
• Two Lehman kills and an NYU attack error put Stevens ahead 14-12 halfway through the set.
• As they had done all match, the Royals responded with three straight points of their own to re-take the lead.
• With the score 16-15 in favor of NYU, the Ducks got back-to-back kills from Lehman and Bittker as a part of a quick 3-0 run to take an 18-16 lead.
• Holding a 20-18 edge trying to force a fourth set, the Royals tied the match at 20 and the teams went back-and-forth with consecutive points for the next six.
• NYU then slammed the door by closing the set with three consecutive points to clinch a 25-23 sweep victory.

Match Point

• Leading 24-23, Royal outside hitter put down his fourth kills of the match to seal the straight set win.

Inside the Numbers

• NYU had three players finish with at least nine kills while also hitting at least .450 in the victory.
• Stevens was held without a block in a match for the first time since Feb. 20, 2016 against Rust.
• Byrne's back-to-back service aces in the opening set were the only two service aces the Ducks produced in the match while NYU had four.
• Bittker finished with eight kills and hit .286 while both Byrne and Frenzel added five kills apiece.
• Senior setter Grant Burden produced 38 assists over three sets for an average of 12.67 assists per set. Burden's 11.22 assists per set continues to lead all of NCAA Division III this season.
• With 14 more kills in the contest, Lehman now ranks sixth in program history with 1,202 career kills. He sits just one kill behind Matt Akers for fifth and 40 kills behind Will Molina for fourth place. Additionally, Lehman's 3.64 career kills per set would set a new career program record.
• The 12 Royal attack errors were the least committed by a team against the Ducks this season.

Next Up

• Another top-15 matchup awaits the Ducks as they face off against No. 15 Lancaster Bible College Friday at 7:00 p.m. inside Canavan Arena.
• Stevens has won all four matchups in the series history, including a 3-1 win over the Chargers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Feb. 16, 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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