STEVENSON, Md. (April 7, 2021) – Jack Fyda and Nathan Lancia both racked up double-digit kills but it was not enough as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-27, 17-25, 25-22, 16-25) contest in the Middle Atlantic Conference semifinals against the #2 seeded Stevenson University Mustangs Wednesday night on the road.

Stevenson rallied from a 24-21 deficit in the opening set to win in extra points and rode the momentum to a four-set win, avenging the loss the Ducks handed the Mustangs two weeks ago. It is the first win for Stevenson over Stevens in the history of the series dating back to 2003.

Fyda led the way offensively for Stevens with 12 kills to go along with eight digs while Lancia added 10 kills and five digs as both student-athletes produced double-digit kills for the eighth time this season.

The Mustangs, meanwhile, got a match-high 23 kills from Logan Smiley who hit .409 and added 10 digs in the win. Additionally, three other Stevenson student-athletes reached the double-digit kills plateau while setter Grant Nelson registered 58 total assists in just four sets.

As a team, Stevenson out-hit Stevens .370 to .165 and held a 69-46 edge in kills in the match.

The loss snapped a nine-match win streak for the Ducks as they close out the season with a 10-4 overall record in the condensed 2021 season.

Volleys and Points

• The Mustangs jumped ahead early in the opening set by scoring the first three points and six of the first nine to take a 6-3 lead.
• Trailing 10-9, the Ducks took their first lead of the set on three straight points after kills from Chris Varseveld and Percy Bickford as well as a Lancia service ace.
• The two teams traded points back-and-forth for the majority of the stanza as the score was knotted at 21 late.
• Stevens looked like it would grab the highly-contest first set as kills from Varseveld, Lancia and Fyda resulted in three straight points and a set point.
• The Mustangs did not go away, however, as they staved off three straight set points and tied the contest at 25.
• Tanner Stauffer and Nelson gave Stevenson a 1-0 lead with back-to-back kills to win the set 27-25.
• Tied at eight in the second set, the Mustangs began to create some separation with a 5-1 run to take a 13-9 lead.
• After Stevens cut the deficit back to one at 13-12, Stevenson rattled off five straight points to swell the edge to 18-12.
• The Mustangs were able to cruise from there, winning the set 25-17 on Smiley's sixth kill of the set.
• The third set saw the Ducks fall behind early once again as Stevenson used a 5-0 run to create a 10-5 lead.
• Trailing 11-6, Stevens climbed back into the set with four straight points thanks to a Lancia kill and double blocks from Stedman van Arsdale and Lancia as well as Fyda and Van Arsdale.
• The Ducks found themselves down five once again at 17-12 before making a run to avoid the sweep.
• Four errors by the Mustangs and a Percy Bickford kill contributed to a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to 18-17.
• Behind 19-17, Stevens scored five consecutive points on kills by Fyda and Bickford, a double block from van Arsdale and Fyda and a Varseveld ace to take a 22-19 lead.
• Stevens was then able to take a 24-20 lead and win the set 25-22 as van Arsdale put down kills to score each of the final two points.
• After trading points to start off the fourth set, the Mustangs scored five straight points of their own while trailing 9-8 to make the score 13-9 and take a lead they would not relinquish.
• The Ducks were able to climb back into the set at 17-15, but Stevenson was not to be denied as they scored eight of the final nine points of the set to win 25-16 and take the match 3-1.

Inside the Numbers

• Both teams hit at a high clip in the first set as the Mustangs hit .410 while Stevens hit .317.
• The major difference offensively came in the second through fourth sets as Stevenson hit .393, .294 and .382 while the Ducks countered with .034, .200 and .062.
• The Mustangs also held an advantage at the net with a 10-3 block edge while also producing a 61-39 advantage in assists.
• Bickford narrowly missed on joining the double-digit kill club as he finished with nine while adding seven digs.
• Varseveld was the most efficient offensive option for Stevens as he hit .571 with five kills on seven swings.
• Louden Moran and Daniel Perun split the setting duties as Moran had 21 assists and Perun added 15.
• van Arsdale led the Ducks at the net defensively with three blocks and closes the season with a team-high 35 total blocks.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Dan Buehring)

• "Stevenson executed at a very high level tonight and won the day. I have no doubt our group will work hard to make big strides in the offseason. We did not consistently put our best stuff out on the court tonight and will use this experience to inform great growth and learning with an eye to our next opportunity together. This is a special group with all the right stuff to do special things in the future."

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