NEWTON, Mass. (March 4, 2023) – Senior Connor Fuelner registered 20 kills on the day as No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated both Baruch College (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17) and hosting Lasell University (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) Saturday in a tri-match at Lasell's Athletic Center.

Senior Nathan Lancia and first-year Phillip Bone each had 14 kills and six digs in the four-set victory over Baruch (6-8). This marked the Ducks' tenth straight victory over the Bearcats and the second this season.

Later in the day, senior Percy Bickford led the way with 11 kills and five digs for the Ducks as they swept Lasell (9-7) for the fourth straight meeting. The victories moved the Ducks to an impressive 20-2 and extended the Ducks' winning streak to nine.

Against Baruch, Stevens jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after a couple of errors from the Bearcats. Baruch would respond however, scoring nine of the next 13 points to take a 9-7 lead. The Ducks would follow that up with four straight points, starting with a kill from Fuelner and then an ace from Bone. The Ducks would also go on a 5-0 run later in the set, fueled by Lancia and senior Alex Franke, that put Stevens up 17-11. Fuelner would close out the set with a kill to put the set away.   

Looking to take momentum back, Baruch opened the second set with five of the first eight points to jump out to an early lead. The Ducks quickly settled in and scored 13 of the next 15 points, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Franke, to give Stevens an eight point advantage. Stevens forced Baruch into four turnovers on the run and Lancia added two kills. The Bearcats tried to claw their way back into the set, but the damage was already done as the Ducks took the set 25-18.

Facing a sweep, it was Baruch who took the third set to keep themselves in the contest. Stevens jumped out to an early 5-2 lead after two kills by Bone. The Bearcats responded by scoring 12 of the next 18 points to take a 14-11 lead. Stevens committed six errors on the Bearcat run. The Ducks got a spark from senior Christopher Varseveld, who came in and provided two kills, one in which cut the Ducks' deficit to two. The Bearcats then committed an attack error to trim their lead to one at 24-23, but a service error which would force a fourth set.

In the final set, Baruch maintained their momentum by jumping out to a 6-3 lead after a kill by Haoxin Hu. Franke then sparked a five-point run by the Ducks, gathering three assists and getting an ace to put the Ducks up by two. Bone had back-to-back aces as part of a mini four-point run for the Ducks midway through the set. A service error brought the Ducks match point, holding a seven-point lead 24-17. Graduate student Colin Nikc slammed the door shut with an ace to give the No. 1 team in the nation their first win on the day.

Against Lasell, the two teams seemed to feel each other out in the opening set, as the first 18 points were split by the two teams. Up 20-19 late, the Ducks closed it out by scoring the last five points to claim the first set. Stevens forced two errors, followed by back-to-back kills from sophomore Koby Sherman. Bickford closed the set out with an ace.

After the Lasers scored the first point of set two, Sherman again recorded back-to-back kills, followed by an ace from senior Louden Moran to put Stevens up early. The two teams would again find themselves tied up at nine, but over the remainder of the set, the Ducks would score two points to Lasell's one which gave them the advantage. Sherman recorded an ace and two kills while the team forced five Lasell turnovers to give them a two-set advantage heading to the final set.

Looking to close out the match, the Ducks jumped in front with three straight points, with three kills coming from Bickford. A 5-1 run courtesy of two Lasell errors pushed the Ducks' advantage to 15-8. Stevens would hold at least a six-point lead over the remainder of the set and the Ducks closed out the sweep after kills from Feulner and Bickford.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens had a much better hitting percentage (43.7%) compared to Baruch (19.8%). The percentage was the Ducks' second-highest of the season.
• Franke finished the day with four aces.
• Stevens totaled seven blocks against Baruch, while finishing with nine against Lasell.
• Nikc provided 35 assists and recorded 14 digs in the win over the Bearcats.
• Errors were a key component in the match against Lasell. The Eagles committed 18 attack errors, while the Ducks committed seven. However, Stevens committed 13 service errors while the Lasers only committed 11.
• The Ducks recorded eight service aces against the Lasers, with Moran, Sherman, and Fuelner each having two.

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball resumes MAC Freedom play on March 8 as they host Widener and NYU in the second-annual Patrick Dorywalski Classic that bears the name of the Ducks' longtime former head coach. 
• The Ducks host Widener in the opener, set for 5 p.m. The Ducks swept the Pride in last year's contest.
• The Ducks will also host No. 9 New York University in non-conference action at 7 p.m. to close the event. Stevens swept NYU on Feb. 15. 
• Links for live stats and video for both matches are available on StevensDucks.com.

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