POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (April 6, 2023) – Sophomore Koby Sherman tallied 20 kills and had two blocks while senior Louden Moran recorded a career high 50 assists, but it was not enough as the No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball fell to #2 Vassar College 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 8-15) Thursday evening inside Kenyon Hall.

Sherman, who was the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week, also had three digs on the evening while senior Connor Feulner had ten kills and five blocks for the Ducks, who lost their first matchup since February 10th. The two teams have now split the two meetings this year.

Vassar was led by Andrew Kim who matched Sherman's 20 kills. The Brewers are now 20-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to the Ducks back on January 4 in Hoboken.

Neither team was able to generate too much breathing room on the night as the two teams played each other even. With the Ducks up 6-5 in set number one, they were able to score the next three points off of Vassar errors to open up a four point lead. They also led 11-6 after a kill from first-year Phillip Bone. Later on in the set, Stevens went on another 3-0 mini spurt which included a kill and an ace from Moran which put the Ducks up seven. Vassar came back to tie things at 22, but the Ducks scored the final three points of the set as senior Percy Bickford had a kill, Feulner had an ace, and the Brewers committed an attack error.

After going down in the first set, the Brewers jumped out to 4-0 and 7-3 leads early against the Ducks in set number two. Down by three or more for much of the first half of the second frame, Stevens scored four points out of five to tie things up at 14 after being down 13-10. Sherman had two kills and first-year Tyler Hoke had one on the run. Facing set point down 24-22, Sherman was able to record another kill but the Brewers would go on to win the next point to take the second set.

The Brewers again jumped on the Ducks as they took a 4-2 lead to start set three. Down 8-7, Bone kick started a four point run for the Ducks that included two kills from the first-year that put Stevens up three. Vassar clawed back to tie things up at 12 and the two teams split the next 14 points to remain tied at 19. Now tied at 23, Sherman tallied a kill and the Ducks forced an attack error from the home side as they held on to win the third set and take a 2-1 lead on the evening.

Vassar jumped out to an 8-2 lead in set four. Later down 17-10, senior Nathan Lancia had back-to-back kills followed by a kill from Sherman to cut the deficit to four. Stevens remained within striking distance throughout and got it to within four at 23-19. After that, they would score four straight points, including an ace from Feulner and a kill from Sherman, to tie the set at 23. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Vassar recorded the next two points and forced a fifth set, something the Ducks had only encountered one other time this season.

Hoke and Sherman recorded the first two Duck points in the final set as things stood at 2-2 early. After the Brewers scored the next two points, Sherman responded again to cut the deficit in half. Vassar scored the next four points to extend their lead before Sherman once again halted a Brewer run. Despite a late comeback effort by the Ducks, Vassar was able to hold on to secure their 20th victory of the season.

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks recorded hitting numbers of 58-26-125 (.256) in the contest. Vassar tallied hitting numbers of 65-22-135 (.319)
• Seven different Ducks recorded a kill in the contest. Sherman and Feulner combined for 30 of the team's 58 kills. Bone added nine while Hoke pitched in eight.
• The Brewers had 21 blocks on the evening while Stevens had 13. Feulner led the way with four block assists and one solo rejection.
• Bone led the team in digs with 12 while Moran tallied 10. 
• 14 Ducks featured in the contest.
• Stevens is 0-2 in matches that go to five sets this season.

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball wraps up the regular season on Saturday, April 8, as they host Arcadia University. The team will be celebrating senior day. The game will also be celebrated as a Pride Game.
• Stevens is 8-0 all-time against Arcadia, only losing a total of three sets.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches are available on StevensDucks.com.