HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 31, 2023) – First-year
Phillip Bone set down a career-high 16 kills to lead No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball to a 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-14) victory over Baruch College Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup at Canavan Arena.
Senior
Alex Franke added 12 kills and classmate
Christopher Varseveld totaled six kills and five blocks for the Ducks, who took to the court as the top-ranked team in the country for the first time since 2015. The four-set victory was the fifth straight win for Stevens, who improved to 8-1 on the year.
Jack Centeno had a team high 14 kills and Andrew Ubanwa added 10 for Baruch, who fell to 3-2. The Ducks have won the last nine meetings between the teams. The teams will meet for a second time on Mar. 4 as part of a tri-match hosted by No. 14 Lasell.
Despite the new lofty ranking, it was Baruch that came out firing on all cylinders, scoring three of the game's first four points. The opening frame would be the closest of the four sets, with 13 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team was able to create separation and a kill from Franke and a Centeno attack error gave the Ducks a 21-19 advantage. However, Carlos Rodriguez knocked down a Ryan Oommen pass and an ace knotted the score at 21 and Baruch closed the set on a 6-0 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Trailing in the match seemed to motivate the Ducks, as they opened the second set by scoring six of the first eight points to obtain an early cushion, one that they'd never relinquish. An 8-0 run in the middle portion of the set was punctuated by a huge solo block from Bone, who also knocked down three kills during the sequence. An ace by Bone brought the Ducks to set point and senior setter
Louden Moran knocked down an overpass to even the match.
The third saw Stevens again jump in front early, with a kill from first-year
Tyler Hoke sparking a 3-0 run. Baruch rallied to tie the score at five, but the Ducks committed just one attack error and hit .560 (15-1-25). Despite the efficient offense, the Ducks only maintained a two-point lead after a service error brought the score to 15-13. However, the Ducks would not commit an error of any kind over the remainder of the set and closed out the frame with an 8-1 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The final set saw Baruch score three of the first four points to grab an early lead. The Ducks responded with three straight points on kills from Hoke and Bone to jump in front for good. A Moran ace and another Bone kill pushed the lead to 12-8 and a 5-0 run broke the set open. The Ducks closed out the match with a 5-1 that included an emphatic kill on an overpass by senior
Nathan Lancia.
Inside the Numbers
- The Ducks finished the match hitting .300, a number that was boosted by back-to-back sets where the team hit well over .500.
- Moran finished with a match-high three aces.
- The Ducks totaled 12 blocks against only three for Baruch.
- Closing out the match, the Ducks held Baruch to a negative hitting percentage (-.056).
- Moran finished with 30 assists, while Nikc totaled 10.
- Lancia also finished with double-digit kills, totaling 10.
- Sophomore Jesse Knuckles defended a career-high 14 digs.
From the Sidelines - Head Coach Dan Buehring
- "Baruch came out ready to go and we were not able to match their level of effort and intent. I think we had a great response to the challenge they presented and learned a whole lot. We could not ask for a better opportunity to understand a few areas where we have to improve after this match. We look forward to getting right back to work with a tough NJCU team on the road."
Up Next
- No. 1 Men's Volleyball heads to Jersey City tomorrow night to take on NJCU in a Hudson County battle.
- The Ducks are 19-0 all-time against the Gothic Knights and Wednesday night's matchup is the first at the John J. Moore Athletic Center since 2017.
- Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.
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