HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 21, 2023)  – Sophomore Koby Sherman had 13 kills as No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball swept No. 5 Vassar College (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) Saturday to close out a non-conference tri-match at Canavan Arena.

Senior Nathan Lancia had an impressive 14  kills on 19 swings with just a single error (.684 hitting percentage) as the Ducks also swept Elms College (25-8, 25-8, 25-11) in the opener to close the day with a 5-1 record. Four of the Ducks' five wins to start the season have been sweeps. 

Adam Gulick had a match-high 14 kills to lead Vassar, who swept Elms in the middle match of the day to conclude play 1-1. Stevens has won five of the last six meetings with the Brewers. The teams will meet for a second time this season on Apr. 6 in Poughkeepsie.

Jairam Rodriguez had three kills to lead Elms. The Ducks improved to 5-1 all-time against the Blazers, including wins in each of the last three matchups.

In a top-five showdown, the Ducks and Brewers played an exciting brand of volleyball and despite the narrow margin in each of the three sets, the teams combined for just four lead changes and four ties, including none in the second set, where the Ducks led wire-to-wire.

In the opening set, Andrew Kim set down the first point of the game, only for the Ducks to respond with the next seven. The lead would swell to as many as eight before Vassar responded with five straight points to close to within 15-12. The three-point margin would be as close as Vassar would get as the Ducks scored three of the final points to take the opening set, two coming on an ace from senior Connor Feulner and a kill from classmate Chris Varseveld.

As mentioned, the Ducks took control of the second set from the opening point. Senior Percy Bickford set down a pass from classmate Louden Moran for each of the first two points of the frame and Sherman and Varseveld teamed for a block to make the score 4-1. Although the Ducks never went on a sustained run until the end of the set, they didn't allow Vassar to string together more than two points in a row until the Brewers reeled off three straight to pull with 19-18. However, the Ducks closed the set in style, scoring five of the final six points to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Sherman began the sequence with a kill and an ace and the Sunnyvale, California added another kill to bring Stevens to set point. In addition to his 13 kills, Sherman finished with four aces and four blocks.

The final set provided the most back-and-forth action between the teams. Although Vassar won the opening point, Sherman knocked down consecutive Moran passes and first-year Phillip Bone knocked down an over-pass to push the Ducks' lead to 4-1. The Brewers would go on a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 lead before the Ducks roared back with five straight points of their own to retake the lead. Vassar fought off two match points, before Sherman knocked down his final kill of the match to close out the victory.

Against the Elms, the Ducks hit over .400 in two of the three sets to finish the match at .403, marking the eighth time in the last two seasons that Stevens finished at .400 or higher. Conversely, Elms was forced into a negative attack percentage in all three sets and the Blazers finished at -.203, marking the fifth time in two seasons that the Ducks held their opponent to a negative attack percentage. 

In the opening set, the Ducks reeled off eight straight points to take a commanding 8-1 lead. The Ducks would snag the opening set by scoring 10 of the final 11 points. 

The second set followed in kind, with the Ducks scoring five unanswered points to take a 9-2 lead. They went on another extended run, scoring eight straight to take a 19-4 lead, and closed out the set by scoring four of the final five points. Stevens held Elms to eight points in each of the first two sets.

The final set saw Stevens take control from the opening serve, scoring the first seven points of the frame, including two kills from sophomore Jesse Knuckles, who slid over from his traditional libero role into an outside hitter position. Elms pulled to within 9-4, but the Ducks rebounded with an 11-4 run in the middle portion of the set to take a 20-8 lead. Stevens closed out the sweep by scoring three of the final four points of the match.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Lancia's 14 kills against Elms were the Galloway, Ohio product's most since 2021.
• Five Ducks hit over .500 in the victory over Elms. 
• Sophomore Sebastian Huyke dished out a career-high 18 assists in the sweep of Elms.
• The Ducks did not commit a reception error against Elms. 
• Elms totaled just eight kills against Stevens. 
• Sophomores Hunter Schmidt and Brandon Rogers joined first-year Tyler Hoke in totaling three blocks against Elms.
• The Ducks totaled seven aces against Vassar, with Sherman serving up four and Feulner totaling three. 
• Varseveld finished with five blocks against the Brewers.
• Moran dished out 32 assists against Vassar.
• Junior Phu-Quy Ho defended nine digs to pace Stevens against Vassar.
• Stevens and Vassar each hit .400 or better in the second set.

From the Sidelines - Head Coach Dan Buehring

• "It is nice to see our team work so hard to perform at a genuinely high level and also, to simply compete as hard as possible. We found a few different ways to win Saturday, which is good to see. Vassar is one great team and I think our level of focus and effort was incredible at times. We also faltered at others then simply continued to fight as hard as possible. Our group should be very proud of the effort they showed."

 
Up Next

• No. 4 Men's Volleyball hosts No. 2 Springfield and Ramapo College in a non-conference tri-match at Canavan Arena on Jan. 28.
• The Ducks and Pride will be meeting in Hoboken for the first time since the 2015 national championship match, which was won by Stevens. The teams are meeting for the first time in Canavan Arena during the regular season since Apr. 3 2013. It will be the perennial national powerhouses' third-ever meeting in New Jersey. 
• Conversely, the Ducks and the Roadrunners will be meeting inside Canavan Arena for the first time since 2015. The Ducks have won the last eight meetings between the teams.
• Links for live stats and video for all three contests in the tri-match are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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