HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 8, 2023) – Senior Percy Bickford tallied 15 kills and had six digs as the No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated Arcadia University 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18) in a MAC contest Saturday afternoon inside Canavan Arena.

The Ducks celebrated senior day, honoring graduate Colin Nikc along with the senior class of Bickford, Christopher Varseveld, Alex Franke, Connor Feulner, Louden Moran, and Nathan Lancia.

Lancia added ten kills for Stevens while Moran provided 41 assists. The team finishes the regular season with a 29-3 record to go along with a 9-0 record in MAC play. This marks the second-straight regular season MAC Conference Championship for the Ducks.

Arcadia was led by Danny Gonzalez who had a game-high 18 kills. The Knights had a 17-9 record in the regular season and finished 7-2 in MAC play. Arcadia will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

The two teams felt each other out in the beginning of the opening set. Arcadia and Stevens each scored four of the first eight points. Senior Alex Franke had then had a kill followed by an Arcadia attack error to put the Ducks up 6-4. Later up 10-9, the Ducks recorded three straight points, including a kill from Bickford and an ace from Moran to put the Ducks up four. Arcadia scored the next four points to things up at 13. Stevens followed that with four straight points of their own as Franke and Lancia each had kills on the run. The Ducks scored five of their last six points on kills as they were victorious in set number one.

Stevens once again took it to Arcadia as they took the second set to open up a 2-0 lead. After splitting the first ten points with the Knights, the Ducks scored the next three points off of Arcadia attack errors to open up a 8-5 lead. In the middle of the frame with the Ducks up 12-9, Varseveld recorded a kill followed by an Arcadia attack error to put the home side up five. After the Knights cut the lead to three, Moran and Franke recorded back-to-back kills to restore the Ducks advantage to five. Leading 22-17, they closed out the set with a kill from Lancia, an ace from Varseveld, and a bad set by Arcadia.

After going down two sets to none, Arcadia jumped out to an 11-7 advantage over the Ducks and did not concede the lead following that. Down 15-9, Bickford had two kills and Franke had one in part of a four point run to trim the deficit to one. Arcadia scored the next two points but Varseveld responded with a kill to keep the Ducks within striking distance. Despite the Ducks getting the deficit down to two at 19-17, Arcadia scored three straight points to take a five point lead. They would win the set to force a fourth frame.

Still feeling the momentum from set three, Arcadia got out to a 5-3 lead in the fourth. And maintained their lead through the first 25 points with a 13-12 advantage. Stevens slammed the door shut with an 8-0 run to give them a 20-13 lead. Feulner, Lancia, and Moran each had kills in the spurt. The Ducks would go on to win by seven.

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks recorded hitting numbers of 54-19-119 (.294) in the contest. Arcadia tallied hitting numbers of 47-27-125 (.160)
• Six different Ducks recorded a kill in the contest. Bickford and Lancia combined for 25 of the team's 54 kills. Franke and Varseveld each added nine.
• The Knights had 22 blocks on the afternoon while Stevens had 14. Feulner led the way with five block assists and one solo rejection.
• Moran led the team in digs with eight while Lancia tallied seven. 
• Stevens is now 9-0 all-time against the Knights.

Up Next

• The Ducks will be taking place in the MAC Championships on Thursday, April 13. The Ducks will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Stevens will take on the winner of No. 4 Stevenson and No. 5 Misericordia. Times are TBA.
• Links for live stats and video for both matches will be available on StevensDucks.com.