ST. DAVIDS, Pa. (April 1, 2023) – Senior Nathan Lancia had 11 kills and five digs in the first match, while sophomore Koby Sherman registered 20 kills and nine digs in match two, as No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated Eastern University in three sets (25-17, 25-15, 22-18) and No. 5 Messiah University in four sets (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21) Saturday afternoon in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) tri-match played at Eastern.

Sherman accounted for 21 points in the second match as the Ducks took down the No. 5 team in the country in Messiah (21-3, 6-1). Senior Percy Bickford added ten kills and seven digs while senior Louden Moran had 39 kills and eight digs to help the Ducks win the second of two matches on the day. The loss ended a 14 game winning streak for the Falcons. Stevens is now 3-2 all-time against their conference rivals.

Earlier in the day, Lancia led the way for the top-ranked Ducks against Eastern (10-12, 2-5). The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Eagles. Senior Alex Franke and sophomore's Brandon Rogers and Hunter Schmidt each added five kills for the Ducks (28-2, 8-0), who extended their conference winning streak to 23 after both victories. Stevens also extended its current winning streak to 17 as they improved to 5-0 all-time against Eastern.

Stevens fell behind 3-1 in the first set of their first match of the day against Eastern. The Ducks scored the next three points which came from a Schmidt kill, Eastern attack error, and a Lancia ace. Later on in the set down 14-13, the Ducks took the momentum behind a quick 5-0 run. Junior Carver Weirick kicked things off with a kill followed by one from Lancia. Sherman finished the run with two aces to put the Ducks up 18-14. Stevens outscored Eastern 7-3 over the final ten points to win the first set 25-18.

The Ducks once again fell behind early but rebounded after giving up the first two points as they scored the next five. Up 12-8 in the frame, Schmidt recorded a kill that kicked off a 6-0 Duck run. Eastern had three attack errors on the run, followed by Rogers and Schmidt kills to close the run. Stevens never looked back as they closed out the set thanks to a kill from Lancia.

Facing a sweep, Eastern committed a bad set and three attack errors to hand the Ducks a 4-0 lead to start the third. Later on with the Ducks leading 12-8, Lancia recorded back-to-back kills to give the Ducks a six point advantage. The Eagles tried to claw their way back into the match but were unable to, as sophomore Sebastian Huyke and sophomore Kevin Herbst recorded kills to close out the sweep for Stevens.

In their second game of the day, the Ducks and Falcons split the first eight points as the teams were tied at four. Started by a kill from Sherman, the Ducks scored five straight points to take a 9-4 lead. First-year Phillip Bone also had a kill on the run. The teams continued to keep it close as neither side was able to score three straight points the rest of the set. Up 19-14, Bickford tallied back-to-back kills to push the Duck lead to seven. Bone and Sherman and kills to close out the first set for the number one team in the nation.

After the Ducks scored two of the first three points, each team went on their own respective three point runs. With the score tied at 11 midway through the second set, Messiah rattled off three straight points before Sherman ended the run with a kill that was assisted by Moran. The Falcons were able to maintain their lead as they led 23-21 late in the frame. Sherman was then able to get a kill to cut the deficit in half. After an attack error from Messiah, Sherman had another kill to give the Ducks the lead. Stevens would then get the winning point via a Falcon attack error to close out a 4-0 run, winning the set 25-23.

After almost winning the second set, Messiah responded by winning the third and forcing a fourth frame. Tied at six after splitting the first twelve points, Messiah scored four straight to separate themselves from the Ducks. Down 19-13, Stevens got an ace from Bickford and an ace from Moran to cut their deficit to four. Messiah was able to hold on as the Ducks tried to fight back, winning 25-20.

Messiah jumped out to a 6-4 lead in set number four before kills from Bickford and Moran tied things up at six. After the Falcons scored the next point, Sherman and Bickford had back-to-back kills to put the Ducks in front. Messiah tied things up on the next point, but the Ducks responded with back-to-back kills from Sherman and then a kill by Lancia to go up three. Later up 17-11, the Falcons scored four straight to trim the Stevens lead to two. The Duck lead would remain, leading 23-21. They got a kill from Lancia and an attack error from the Falcons as they defeated Messiah 25-21 and 3-1 on the day.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens outhit their opponents in both games. They finished with a .290 attack percentage compared to Eastern's -.012 in game one, while they posted a .347 hitting percentage in game two compared to .282 from Messiah.
• Sherman recorded ten digs on the day. Bickford and junior Phu-Quy Ho had nine. Moran tallied eight.
• Graduate student Colin Nikc Moran provided 18 assists and a dig in the win over Eastern.
• Stevens committed 26 errors across the two matches, while their opponents combined for 43.
• The Ducks totaled eight service aces on the day, recording four in each contest. Moran had three while Sherman had two.
• Schmidt had six blocks against Eastern while Lancia also added five in the contest.

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball finishes their road portion of the 2023 season on Thursday, April 6, as they take on No. 2 Vassar College. The Ducks are 14-4 all-time against Vassar, including winning the last matchup.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches are available on StevensDucks.com.

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