READING, Pa. (March 27, 2021) – Nathan Lancia produced just the second and third double-doubles of his collegiate career and set a new career-high with 21 kills in match two to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to a pair of victories (3-0, 3-1) over Alvernia University on the road Saturday.

After starting the year 1-3, the Ducks have now won seven straight matches, all of which earned three points, and sit just .2 points per match away from Messiah and Stevenson for first place in the Middle Atlantic Conference standings.

All seven sets were highly contested on the day as Stevens won 29-27, 31-29, 25-21 to start the day and followed it up with a 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 win in the nightcap.

Lancia now has finished in double figures in kills in fourth straight matches as the sophomore started the day with a 14-kill, 16-dig effort and followed it up with 21 kills and 13 digs in the second contest.

He did not do all the work alone offensively, however, as Percy Bickford, Chris Varseveld and Jack Fyda all also produced at least one match with at least 10 kills on the day.

The offensive effort ran efficiently all day as the Ducks hit .274 on the day led by Louden Moran's 42 assists in the first match and Daniel Perun's 44 assists in the second.

Volleys and Points (Match One)

• After falling behind 9-7 in the opening set, the Ducks rattled off four straight points thanks to a block and a kill from Bickford as well as an Alex Franke service ace to take an 11-9 lead.
• A bit later in the set, the Wolves were able to climb back to even at 14 with three straight points.
• After a Fyda kill made it 20-18 in favor of Stevens, Alvernia scored five of the next six points and six of the next eight to take a 24-22 lead and threaten to take the first set.
• The Ducks did not go away quietly, however, as Fyda produced two more kills to stave off three total set points for the Wolves and tie things at 25.
• Alvernia was unable to clinch the set up 26-25 as the Ducks got back-to-back kills by Lancia and Fyda to take a 27-26 lead.
• Tied at 27, Moran distributed two beautiful kill attempts to Franke and Bickford who both delivered in a big way to help Stevens win 29-27.
• Trailing 6-4 after four straight points from the Wolves, the Ducks tied things at seven thanks to another kill by Bickford.
• Alvernia was able to swell the lead to three again but didn't keep the lead for long after two straight kills by Lancia capped a 5-1 run to give Stevens a 13-12.
• The Wolves then turned to Tyler Anderson who was able to produce three consecutive kills to give them a 17-15 lead.
• The two teams then traded points back-and-forth for the next 14 total points of the set which resulted in a 24-23 set point for Alvernia.
• Much like the first, the Ducks did not allow the contest to end in regulation as they staved off two set points and took a 26-25 edge after a Lancia kill.
• The Wolves were able to fight to keep the set going themselves as they fended off four straight set points for the Ducks before Varseveld and Fyda gave Stevens two straight points to win the set 31-29 and take a 2-0 match advantage.
• Stevens found themselves chasing from behind once again in the third as they trailed 12-8 early in the set.
• Behind 16-13, the Ducks went on their longest run of the match as they scored five straight points thanks to a Fyda kill and four Alvernia errors.
• Leading 20-18, Stevens put this set away without the need for extra points as Lancia and Bickford both put down two kills to help the Ducks win five of the last eight points of the set and take the match 3-0.

Inside the Numbers (Match One)

• Bickford registered 11 kills in the match and has now produced double-digit kills in eight of the 11 matches he has played in.
• Varseveld and Franke led the Ducks in attack percentage as Varseveld hit .353 with 10 kills and Franke hit .438 with eight kills.
• Moran and Bickford narrowly missed out on joining Lancia in the double-double club as they both produced nine digs apiece.
• The Wolves were stout at the net defensively as they out-blocked Stevens 9-4 in the match.
• The sweep was the fifth in six matches for the Ducks and earns three points in the MAC standings.
• Stevens finished the match with a season-high 60 total digs as five different student-athletes had at least seven digs.

Volleys and Points (Match Two)

• Alvernia started the opening set in the second match on fire as they used a 4-0 run to take an early 9-4 lead in the set.
• The Wolves swelled the lead to as many as seven with a quick 3-0 run to make it 13-6.
• Trailing 14-7, the Ducks climbed back to within four after a Lancia kill and two Alvernia errors.
• Alvernia began to pull away again, though, as they scored four straight to take their biggest lead of the day at 18-10.
• Stevens clawed their way to make it 24-20, but Josh Stewart put down a kill to win the set 25-20.
• The second set was a true back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than three points throughout the entire set.
• Trailing 11-10, the Ducks were able to take the lead with three straight points after a Varseveld kill as well as an ace and a kill from Lancia.
• The Wolves re-took the lead at 18-16 after their scored three consecutive points of their own thanks to a Logan McGinley kill.
• Stevens responded immediately with another 3-0 run after a Lancia kill, an Alvernia error and a double-block from Lanica and Stedman van Arsdale.
• Tied at 21-all, the Ducks scored four of the final five points in the set after kills from Bickford, Perun and the set-winner by Fyda to tie the match at 1-1.
• Unlike almost any other set on the day, it was Stevens who took and early lead in the third when Varseveld put down a kill to give the Ducks a 6-3 lead.
• Much like they did all day, the Wolves battled back as they scored three straight to tie the contest at seven.
• After trading points for the next portion of the contest, Stevens was able to swell its lead to five after a 4-0 run that featured back-to-back Fyda kills as well as kills from Lancia and van Arsdale.
• The Wolves were able to get back to within two at 24-22 and staved off two set points before Bickford found the court to clinch the set 25-22 and give the Ducks a 2-1 edge.
• Leading 8-7 in the fourth set, Stevens used a 6-2 run that featured kills by van Arsdale, Lancia and Bickford as well as a double block from van Arsdale and Lancia to swell the lead to 14-9.
• After Alvernia cut the deficit to two at 16-14, the Ducks again turned to Lancia who put down a kill and then took advantage of two Wolf errors to lead 19-14.
• Stevens did not mess around late either, scoring three of the last four points of the day with the final one coming on Lancia's 21st kill of the match to win 25-21 and take the match 3-1.

Inside the Numbers (Match Two)

• After narrowly missing out on a double-double in the first contest, Bickford left no doubt in the second with 16 kills and 15 digs while hitting .333.
• Along with his 21 kills and 13 digs, Lancia also added six blocks, an assist and an ace in the match.
• Serving as the primary setter, Perun's 44 assists were by far a career-high as he came into the contest with a previous career-best of just six assists.
• van Arsdale was extremely efficient throughout the match with five kills as well as five total blocks.
• The Ducks turned things up a notch in the fourth set, hitting .455 in the stanza to raise their team attack percentage in the match to .279.
• After getting out-blocked in the first contest, the two teams tied with 10 blocks apiece in the second.
• Stevens moved to 7-1 away from Castle Point on the year with the doubleheader sweep.

Unsung Hero (Both Matches)

• With only six kills across the two matches, van Arsdale's numbers do not tell the full story of how well he played on the day. The junior hit .307 on the day and also added seven total blocks with five big ones coming in the second matchup.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Dan Buehring)

• "Our team is starting to compete and execute at a higher level every day. I was so proud of the focus, fight and energy they brought to the court. We also had some great contributions form players off the bench who did incredible things with their opportunities. We are looking forward to our next opportunity to work hard and continue growing."

Next Up

• The Ducks take on No. 15 Stevenson on the road Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
• Stevens has won each of the last nine meetings between the schools dating back to 2003.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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