DALLAS, Pa. (March 6, 2021) – Junior Jack Fyda set a new career-high with 28 kills in the first match and followed it up with 25 kills in match two to help the sixth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team split a pair of contests on the road at Misericordia University Saturday, dropping match one 3-1 before bouncing back for a 3-2 win in the second.

The win in the second match was the first win at Stevens for new head coach Dan Buehring after he took over at the helm in January for legendary head coach Patrick Dorywalski.

Misericordia took the opening match of the 2021 season 31-29, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20 to pick up their first win over a ranked opponent in program history. The Ducks responded, however, with a 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13 five-set victory to pick up their first win of the year and earn two points in the new Middle Atlantic Conference standings.

Stevens also got a new career-high from junior setter Colin Nikc with 54 assists as well as a 12-kill, 11-dig double-double from Zachary Evans in the first match. Additionally, sophomore Percy Bickford tallied 22 total kills over the two matches to help the Ducks earn the split.

In the second matchup, Stedman van Arsdale became the first men's volleyball student-athlete to produce double-digit blocks in a match since Thomas Burrell had 10 in the NCAA Semifinal win over Dominican in March of 2018 as he finished with 10.

The Cougars, who had five different student-athletes in double figures in kills in the first match, were led offensively by Brian Ross who totaled 13 kills in the opening match and 19 in match two.

Volleys and Points (Match One)

• The opening set of 2021 was a true back-and-forth affair with neither team scoring more than two points in a row until the Ducks managed to rattle off take a 22-19 lead after a 5-1 run
• The Cougars responded immediately, however, by grabbing four of the next five points to tie the contest at 23.
• After trading points for the majority of the extra points, Misericordia used a quick 3-1 run to take a 29-28 edge in the set.
• Stevens did manage to tie the contest at 29, but the Cougars got a kill from Matt Lavin and used a Duck error to take set one 31-29.
• The second set belonged to Stevens as they raced out to a quick 8-2 lead by taking advantage of four errors from Ross.
• With the score 14-10, Misericordia managed to claw back to within one with three consecutive points.
• The Ducks answered the call in a big way, rattling off seven consecutive points thanks to kills from Connor Feulner, Bickford and Evans as well as a Fyda service ace.
• Stevens then grabbed four of the final six points of the set to tie the match at one with a 25-17 win.
• The third set looked a lot like the first with neither team leading by more than two points halfway thorough.
• The Cougars ended that trend, however when an Anthony DePalma service ace made the score 15-12 in favor of Misericordia.
• After Stevens climbed back to within two at 23-21, Ross ensured the Cougars would not give up the lead as he notched a pair of kills down the stretch to clinch the 25-22 win and go up 2-1 in the match.
• In the fourth set, the two teams were knotted at 12 before Misericordia was able to create some separation by scoring four consecutive points.
• The Ducks were able to cut the deficit to three at 20-17, but the Cougars salted the set and match away with five of the final eight points of the set to win 25-20 and take the opening match 3-2.

Inside the Numbers (Match One)

• Misericordia came out of the gates firing, hitting .372 in the opening set and .516 in the third to register a .349 overall attack percentage in the match.
• Stevens, meanwhile, hit .322 in the match and a match-high .387 in the third set.
• The Ducks held the advantage at the net, out-blocking the Cougars 9-5 thanks to three blocks each from Fyda, Evans and Feulner.
• The two teams were deadlocked at 58 assists apiece in the match.
• Bickford was second on the team for Stevens with 13 kills while Evans also had double figures with 12.
• Fyda was impressive throughout with a whopping .449 attack percentage on 49 total swings.
• Not only did the Cougars have five guys in double figures in kills, three of those five hit over .375 in the match.

Volleys and Points (Match Two)

• After Stevens won the first three points of the opening set, the Cougars managed to score six straight to take a 6-3 lead.
• Fyda pulled the Ducks back into the contest as he accounted for four of the first eight points to bring Stevens within one at 9-8.
• Trailing 12-9, Stevens was able to regain the lead using a 12-3 run that featured four kills from Fyda as well as a block and a kill by Stedman van Arsdale.
• Leading 21-15, the Ducks cruised to a set one victory 25-18 by winning the final three points of the stanza.
• Exchanging points to start the second set, Stevens was able to move ahead 12-9 after a 4-0 run.
• Misericordia would not go away, however, as they managed to score four consecutive points to take a 19-17 advantage.
• The Ducks answered with a kill and an ace from Bickford as well as a Chris Varseveld kill to take back the edge 20-19.
• The Cougars countered by scoring five of the final six points of the set to win 25-22 and knot things at a set apiece.
• Stevens fell behind 10-6 early in the second set but pulled themselves out of the hole by scoring seven of eight points to take a 13-11 lead.
• After Misericordia managed to re-take the lead at 16-15, the Ducks took advantage of their size at the next using three blocks as a part of a 6-1 run to lead 21-17.
• The Cougars made things interesting down the stretch, cutting the deficit to 23-22 late, but a Fyda kill and an error by Misericordia gave the set to the Ducks 25-22.
• Determined to force a fifth, the Cougars scored five of the first six points of the fourth set.
• Stevens was able to respond with a 5-1 run of their own thanks to two kills and an ace from Fyda to tie things at six.
• The lead for Misericordia swelled to four once again at 14-10 after a kill from Billy Murphy.
• Trailing 22-18, Stevens cut it back to one with three straight capped off by a triple block by Fyda, Evans and van Arsdale.
• The Cougars were not to be denied, however, scoring three of the final four points of the set to win 25-22 and send things to a decisive fifth set.
• In the fifth, Stevens was able to build a 9-6 lead on kills by Bickford, Fyda and van Arsdale.
• The lead ballooned up to four at 11-7 after Bickford put down his ninth kill of the match.
• As they had done all day, Misericordia fought back with three straight points to make the score 12-11.
• Fyda was not going to let the Ducks falter, however, as he put down his 24th and 25th kills of the set to help Stevens win three of the last five points and take the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Inside the Numbers

• Both teams hit .207 overall in the match with the best set for the Ducks being the first when they hit .382.
• Stevens managed to rack up 16 blocks in the contest while the Cougars produced nine.
• After producing four kills in the opening match, Chris Varseveld doubled his total to eight in match two while hitting .294 with four blocks.
• Along with the 10 blocks, van Arsdale also finished with seven kills and a .600 attack percentage in the match.
• The Ducks and Cougars also matched each other in the service ace category with five each.
• Fyda was spectacular at the net, but also throughout the court as he nearly produced a triple-double with seven digs and seven blocks.

Unsung Hero

• Appearing in his first action since the 2019 season, Nikc had a solid day running the offense. The junior totaled 102 total assists over nine sets to go along with three kills and 18 digs on the day.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Dan Buehring)

• "Today's matches were a testament to competing with heart, intent and passion. We had it at times and at others, we certainly did not. We need to work very hard this next week to prepare for another excellent opponent who I am sure will bring a great fight just like Misericordia did."

Up Next

• The team expected to bring "great fight" next time out against Stevens will be Messiah University, who currently sit atop the MAC standings with a 6-0 conference record.
• It will be the first home contests of the season as the Ducks will face off with the Falcons Saturday, March 13th in a doubleheader at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
• It is believed to be the first matchup between the two teams in program history.
• Both contests will have live stats available on StevensDucks.com.

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