HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 8, 2021)  – No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology mens' volleyball announced its 2021 competition schedule Monday. The calendar features a total of 16 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) matches, beginning on Feb. 24, with eight taking place in the friendly confines of Canavan Arena. Stevens is 90-9 since 2012 in matches played on campus.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to return to MAC play and will be working hard every day to bring our best to the court," said first-year head coach Dan Buehring. "The student-athletes have been high energy, focused and displaying a level of intent this past week that is good to see. We are grateful for every day we get out on the court and even more so for any opportunity to compete with conference opponents come Feb. 24th."

The Ducks' 16 matches will take place over a six-week period with the final regular-season contest set for Apr. 3. The schedule consists of a single match on Wednesdays with doubleheaders being played against a single opponent on Saturdays. Teams that play on Wednesdays will play home and away on back-to-back Wednesdays, while teams that play on Saturday will play a single doubleheader at one location.

"We have all learned through this pandemic to appreciate our teammates, the opportunities sport affords us and the hard work our administrators, sports medicine staff at Stevens and the MAC have put in to make this season a possibility," Buehring added. "We intend to give it everything we have and work hard to make great things happen this year."

Stevens opens the Dan Buehring era on Feb. 24 when the squad travels to St. Davids, Pennsylvania to take on Eastern University. The Ducks topped the Eagles in three sets on Feb. 8, 2020 in the first meeting between the programs. Buehring won six straight season openers at Benedictine University and will look to replicate his opening-match success with the Ducks, who've won three of their last four openers; the lone setback coming at the University of Hawai'i in 2018, where the Rainbow Warriors were ranked fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Division I poll.

The Ducks welcome Wilkes University to Canavan Arena on Feb. 27 for a Saturday doubleheader. The matchups on the 27th will be the first meeting between the programs. Wilkes began sponsoring men's volleyball in 2017.

The return contest against Eastern follows on Mar. 3, followed by a doubleheader matchup with Misericordia University on Mar. 6. The Ducks topped the Cougars in three sets on Mar. 11, 2020 in the final contest of the abbreviated 2020 campaign in the first-ever meeting between the teams.

The Ducks have two byes this season (Mar. 10 and Mar. 17), which bookend the program's first-ever meeting with Messiah University on Mar. 13. The Falcons were 12-5 one season ago and 4-1 in MAC play and toppled then-No. 9 Arcadia University in five sets on Feb. 5, 2020. 

After their second bye, Stevens heads to Chester, Pennsylvania for their first matchup with Widener University on Mar. 20, where the teams will take to the court for a pair of matches. The Pride also started sponsoring men's volleyball in 2018. 

The Ducks alternate home contests with Stevenson University on the final two Wednesdays of the regular season. Stevens welcomes the Mustangs to Canavan Arena on Mar. 24 before heading to Maryland one week later. An anticipated matchup from one season ago that never materialized because of the shutdown, the contest on Mar. 24 will be the first time the teams play on the Canavan Arena floor since the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Stevens is 8-0 all-time against Stevenson and the teams have met nearly every year since 2013. Interestingly enough, the matchup in Owings Mills on Mar. 31 will be just the second meeting on the Mustangs' home floor in the series. The teams have met three times in Hoboken, twice in New York City, and once each in Maryland, Huntingdon, Pa. (at Juniata) and Harrisonburg, Va. (at Eastern Mennonite). 

The final two matchups on the schedule are at Alvernia University on Mar. 27 and against Arcadia University in Canavan Arena on Apr. 3 to round out the regular season. The Ducks hold a 3-0 edge in the all-time series with Arcadia after a four-set win one season ago and swept the Golden Wolves on Mar. 9, 2019 in their only matchup..

For the postseason, the conference will have two brackets, with the top five seeds playing for the MAC Championship, while the consolation bracket will be made up of seeds six through nine. Postseason play is set to begin on Apr. 5 with the play-in game for the Championship Bracket between seeds four and five, which will be followed by the semifinal on Apr. 7 and the conference's title match on the 10th. The consolation bracket kicks off on Apr. 7 with the bracket's final set for three days later. 

Just for the 2021 season, the MAC will use the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) scoring system to seed teams for the two postseason tournaments. The total points accumulated will be divided by matches played to determine a points-per-match average to seed the teams. The scoring system awards three points for a three- or four-set victory, two for a five-set win, one for a five-set loss and zero points for a three- or four-set setback.

Stevens finished the 2020 season with an 18-4 record, including a perfect 4-0 mark in MAC play. The Ducks finished the season ranked fifth by the AVCA and counted four wins over teams ranked in the AVCA DIII Top-15. 

The Ducks have won at least 18 matches in 23 straight seasons, including two eight-year runs with at least 20 wins (2003-10 and 2012-19). 

It has been determined that there will be no spectators allowed at MAC sporting events until further notice, including men's volleyball.

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