HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 23, 2023) – Senior Louden Moran had a season-high five aces to go along with 22 assists as No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball swept Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (25-14, 25-15, 25-13) Thursday evening at a packed Canavan Arena. The match served as a Mental Health Awareness Game, as well as Fan Appreciation Night.

Sophomore Koby Sherman totaled six kills and had two digs while first-year Phillip Bone had five kills and three digs for the Ducks, who won their 15th straight match to improve to 26-2 on the year.

MIT was led by Nicholas Gustafson who had a game-high 15 kills. The Engineers are now 10-10 on the season and are losers of five of their last six. The Ducks improved to 14-2 all-time against MIT, including winning ten straight.

The Ducks hit an impressive .565 in recording their 16th sweep of the year. The Ducks totaled 28 kills on 46 attacks with just two errors. Stevens committed no errors in the first set and hit .583 (7-0-12). The Engineers totaled 25 kills and committed 30 errors on the night. They had a hitting percentage of -.064.

Stevens jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a few MIT errors before the Engineers scored three straight to take a lead of their own. Senior Percy Bickford recorded a kill and Moran recorded his first ace of the night as part of a four-point run to put the Ducks up 6-3. Later in the set leading 13-12, Stevens rattled off six straight points to give them a seven-point lead. Bickford had a kill along with five MIT errors on the run. Up 22-14, the Ducks were able to close out the set thanks to three more errors by the Engineers.

Set number two saw the Ducks jump out to a 6-1 lead, with first-year Tyler Hoke having two early kills. With Stevens up 9-4, the home side scored six straight points highlighted by two kills from Bickford to put the Ducks up 15-4. Stevens scored seven of the last eight points of the frame as they won 25-15. Sherman sparked the final run with a kill and the Engineers committed six more errors to give Stevens a 2-0 advantage in the match.

After MIT got off to a 3-0 lead in the final set, the Ducks scored the next 10 points to open up a big lead. Moran recorded three of his five aces on the run, while senior Christopher Varseveld had two kills for the Ducks. Bone, Bickford, and Sherman also had kills for the Ducks on the run. The Engineers kept pace with the Ducks across the next 20 points as the teams split them, winning ten apiece. MIT was unable to get anything going however, as the home team scored the final five points to close out the match as sophomore Brandon Rogers recorded a kill, which was followed by four MIT errors.

Inside the Numbers

• Nine different Ducks recorded a kill in the contest. Sherman and Bone combined for 11 while Bickford and senior Connor Fuelner each had four.
• Stevens had 12 blocks while the Engineers only had one. Feulner led the way with four solo rejections and a pair of block assists.
• Moran and Bone each had three digs to lead the team. 
• The Ducks totaled 25 assists, with Moran having 22.
• 14 Ducks featured in the contest.
• 784 was a season high for attendance at Canavan Arena.

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball continues MAC play next weekend, participating in a tri-match hosted by Eastern on April 1. Stevens will face both Eastern and No. 5 Messiah on the day.
• The Ducks take on Eastern in the opener, set for 3 p.m. The Ducks are 4-0 all-time against the Eagles, never losing a set.
• Stevens will also take on No. 5 Messiah in the second match of the event at 5 p.m. The two teams have split the four matches they have played in the all-time series.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches are available on StevensDucks.com.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise