HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 15, 2022)  – Graduate student Jack Fyda totaled 18 kills on 35 swings with just three errors over two matches in leading the Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team to sweeps of Lasell University (25-20, 25-22, 25-21) and St. Joseph's College (25-14, 25-17, 25-14) Saturday in a season-opening tri-match at Canavan Arena.

Junior Percy Bickford finished with a team-high 22 kills over the two contests as the Ducks opened the season 2-0 for the third time in the last five seasons. The contests marked the first time since 2013 that the Ducks opened in the friendly confines of Canavan Arena. 

Brenden Joyce had a match-high 16 kills against the Ducks to lead Lasell against the Ducks, who fell to St. Joseph's in the neutral-site match to open the season 0-2. The Ducks have swept the Lasers in all three meetings. 

Paul Curaro had eight kills against the Ducks to lead St. Joseph's, who finished the day 1-1 after rallying to defeat Lasell in five sets. Stevens has won each of the four meetings between the programs.

The Ducks found themselves in a back-and-forth affair with Lasell, as the teams totaled 13 ties and five lead changes over the first two sets. Junior Connor Feulner had the Ducks' first point of 2022 setting down a set from classmate Louden Moran to draw the teams even at 1 after Lasell was able to gain possession after Stevens had the opening serve. 

Stevens hit .321 in the opening set, committing just two attack errors, in rallying from an early two-point deficit to take the opening set. Down 6-5, the Ducks turned up the pressure, forcing four Lasell attack errors to go on a 10-2 run to take control of the opening set. The Ducks registered three blocks during the sequence with Feulner assisting on two of the three and junior Alex Franke picking up an impactful solo block to account for the other. 

The second frame produced more of the same, with the Ducks' pair of four-point runs to take an 8-4 lead early in the set and then to overtake Lasell at 23-20, marking the longest runs by either side. Neither team recorded an ace in the set and Ducks closed out the stanza on a kill by senior Stedman Van Arsdale. 

Down 2-0, it was Lasell that jumped out in front in the final set, scoring six of the first seven points to take an early 6-1 lead. The Ducks quickly answered with a 6-1 run of their own to draw even at 7 with Moran and Fyda serving up aces in the stretch. Stevens was able to jump ahead for good with junior Nathan Lancia at the serve, scoring four straight points to take a 13-9 lead. The stretch was punctuated by Lancia's first ace of the season. 

The teams alternated the final nine points to close out the match, with Stevens earning the final point on a Jesus Garcia service error. The Lasers finished with 13 service errors.

In the second match, nine different student-athletes had at least one kill as the Ducks hit a blistering .493 (42-9-67) to produce a second sweep. The Ducks held the Golden Eagles to a negative attack percentage (19-21-80) held St. Joseph's under 17 points in each set, including 14 in the first and third frames. 

The Ducks totaled 10 blocks in the three-set sweep and did not allow the Golden Eagles to alter any of their 67 attacks. Stevens produced a remarkable 76.6% sideout percentage and never trailed after falling behind 4-3 in the opening set. Senior Daniel Perun set down his first kill of the season to close out the victory.

The two wins moved head coach Dan Buehring to 100 career victories. 

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks finished with a .358 hitting percentage over the two matches, while Lasell and St. Joseph's combined to hit .096.
• Perun and Moran each finished the day with two aces as Stevens totaled six over the two matches. 
• First-year Jesse Knuckles amassed eight digs in each contest to make his collegiate debut. 
• Feulner led the Ducks with 11 blocks, totaling six against the Lasers and five against the Golden Eagles. The six blocks marked a career high.
• In addition to Knuckles, first-year Hunter Schmidt made his collegiate debut, finishing with one kill on one swing.

Unsung Hero

• Moran dished out 58 assists over the two matches. He assisted on 76% of the Ducks' kills (76) on the day.

From the Sidelines - Head Coach Dan Buehring

• "It was nice to see the team play with a sense of purpose. It drives communicating with intent and passion, which always helps us play better. So, it was great to see the team make the appropriate adjustments from the first to the second match."
• "We have a tough road ahead, as well as some great opportunities. I think we are all looking forward to working hard together to improve what we do every day to earn some quality wins this year."

Up Next

• Men's Volleyball welcomes No. 1 Carthage College to Canavan Arena on Jan. 22 for a key non-conference contest. 
• The teams have met 10 times since 2005, with the Firebirds holding a 6-4 advantage, including wins in the last two meetings. Of the 10 all-time meetings, three have been in Hoboken. The teams have not met since 2017. 
• Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com. 

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