HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 13, 2023) – Senior Percy Bickford tallied nine kills and had five digs as the No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated No. 5 Misericordia University 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-15) in the MAC semifinals Thursday night inside Canavan Arena.

The Ducks have now won three straight conference tournament games dating back to last season. Stevens will now host the conference championship at Canavan Arena, which has been a fortress for the Ducks as they are a perfect 14-0 at home this season.

Sophomore Koby Sherman added seven kills for the home side while senior Louden Moran had 22 assists and six digs. Stevens has now won five straight contests over Misericordia, including winning the last four via sweep.

Misericordia was led by Anthony DePalma who had a game-high 12 kills. The Cougars finish the season with a 15-22 record in the regular season and a 5-4 record in MAC play. The defeated #4 Stevenson back on Tuesday night in the play-in game to make it to tonight's semifinals.

Stevens got out to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Bickford then scored the next two points for the Ducks on kills. Later on in the set with Stevens up 11-7, senior Connor Feulner smashed home a kill to put the Ducks up five. After Misericordia got to within four at 13-9, Stevens scored the next five points to give them their largest lead of the set at nine. Bickford had a kill while the other four points came from Misericordia errors. The Ducks' last six points all came on kills as Sherman tallied four and Bickford added two more to his total as Stevens won the first frame 25-15.

After splitting the first six points, the Ducks rattled off three straight to give themselves a 6-3 lead. One point came on an ace from Sherman and two came off of Cougar errors. Misericordia kept it close by getting the deficit down to 9-7, but the Ducks followed that with four straight points sparked by a kill from Bickford. Later up 18-11, Stevens went on a 6-0 run to put the set away. Feulner had an ace in the spurt, while Bickford and senior Christopher Varseveled each had kills, as the Ducks took the second frame 25-12.

Looking to put the match away, Stevens outscored Misericordia 6-1 to start the third set. Varseveld got things started with an ace while Sherman, senior Nathan Lancia, and first-year Tyler Hoke added kills on the run. Misericordia's coach was also sanctioned during the run, which resulted in a point for the Ducks. As the Cougars were able to claw their way back to make it a 13-9 game, Moran had back-to-back aces to extend the Duck lead to six. Stevens finished the set scoring six of the last seven points to claim the victory and complete the sweep of Misericordia.

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks recorded hitting numbers of 30-8-59 (.373) in the contest. Misericordia tallied hitting numbers of 23-20-71 (.042)
• Nine different Ducks recorded a kill in the contest. Bickford and Sherman combined for 16 of the team's 30 kills. Feulner and Varseveld each added three.
• Stevens had 16 blocks while Misericordia. Hoke led the way with four block assists and had one solo rejection. Sherman added three block assists.
• The Ducks recorded eight service aces on the evening. Feuler had a game high three.
• Moran led the team in digs with six while Bickford tallied five. 
• Stevens is now 6-1 all-time against the Cougars.

Up Next

• The Ducks will be hosting the MAC Championship game on Saturday, April 13 in Canavan Arena. They will be taking on #2 Messiah. The time is set for 7 p.m. Stevens defeated Messiah 3-0 in a matchup earlier this season.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches will be available on StevensDucks.com.