AURORA, Ill. (February 11, 2023) – First-year Phillip Bone totaled 20 kills across two sets as No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 26-28, 25-22) before sweeping Aurora University (25-7, 25-14, 25-23) Saturday in a doubleheader hosted by Aurora at Thornton Gymnasium.

First-year Tyler Hoke had eight kills on 16 swings without an error in the win over the Raiders and senior Percy Bickford and sophomore Koby Sherman each set down eight kills in the win over the Spartans as the Ducks improved to 13-2 on the year. Stevens improved to 6-0 all-time against MSOE, while today's match with Aurora was the first meeting between the programs.

Carter Shavitz had a match-high 17 kills and James Zippay added 14 for MSOE, who fell to 3-5. John McCormack had seven kills to lead Aurora, who dropped to 2-6. MSOE and Aurora will face one another in an NACC match at MSOE on Mar. 25.

Back-and-forth play defined the match with MSOE as the teams combined for 29 ties and nine lead changes, with three of the four sets featuring ties after both teams crossed the 20-point plateau. 

The Ducks appeared to be taking control of the opening set when three straight blocks were part of a 6-0 run that saw the Ducks take an 8-4 lead. However, the Raiders evened the set and 14 and again drew even with Stevens at 23 before an attack error and a Bone kill gave Stevens the opening set.

The second set saw Stevens score five of the first six points and never look back. Hoke set down a pass from senior Louden Moran to open scoring and consecutive aces from senior Christopher Varseveld pushed the Ducks' lead to three. A second length run saw the Ducks take an 11-4 lead and a series of MSOE errors highlighted by a double block by Hoke and senior Nathan Lancia brought the Ducks to set point. The Raiders reeled off the next six points to cut into the Ducks' lead, but Lancia knocked down a Moran set to close out the frame.

After the Raiders claimed the third set, they jumped in front in the fourth 7-4 after a kill from Shavitz. However, a Moran solo block and a pair of errors drew the teams even at 11. The turning point came late in the set, when the Ducks scored three straight points on a Hoke kill, a Bone block and a kill from senior Alex Franke. Another Franke kill closed out the victory. 

Against Aurora, the Ducks turned in one of their most impressive performances in the opening set, hitting a blistering .722 (14-1-18), while forcing Aurora into nine more attack errors (9) than kills (5). Varseveld and Bickford had the first two kills of the match and the Ducks broke the set open with 13 straight points to take a 16-2 lead. Four different players recorded kills during the stretch and the Ducks blocked three Aurora attacks. Stevens scored the final four points, including a Moran ace, to close out the opening set.

Neither side was able to create separation in the second set until the Ducks went on an 8-1 run to open an 18-9 lead. Kills from Bone and Bickford surrounded a ball-handling error that closed out the set to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

The final set saw Stevens take an early lead after a double block from Sherman and Varseveld and a Bickford ace. Aurora rallied to tie the set at seven and the Spartans would go on to open a 12-9 lead before the Ducks rallied with four straight points to jump back in front at 13-12. An Aurora penalty point sparked a 5-0 run for the Ducks, who took advantage of four Aurora errors. The home team threatened to win the set with a 4-1 run but another Bickford kill and a service error closed out the sweep.

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball crosses the Hudson on Feb. 15 to take on No. 11 New York University.
• The Ducks have won three of the last four meetings between the teams, including a season sweep last year.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches are available on StevensDucks.com.

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