HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 20, 2024) – Graduate students Percy Bickford and Connor Feulner each had 18 kills on the day as the No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball lost to No. 2 Wentworth 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 10-15), but then rebounded and defeated the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22) Saturday in a non-conference tri-match hosted by MIT. 

Graduate student Louden Moran totaled 70 assists across the two matches, including 44 against Wentworth. He also led the Ducks in kills on the day with 21.

Stevens allowed Wentworth to hit .209 in the match and allowed the Beavers to hit .210. The Ducks were consistent on the day as they hit .224 against the Leopards and .224 against MIT.

The loss to Wentworth was the first of the season for the Ducks, and was a rematch from the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals last season, in which the Ducks beat the Leopards 3-1.

The Rundown (Wentworth)

• The story of the day across both matches would be close sets for the Ducks. They jumped out to a 12-8 lead against the Leopards in set one, including scoring seven of the last eight on the run. Graduate student Nathan Lancia had two kills on the run. Later up 13-10, the Ducks ran off six-straight points to extend their lead to nine. Five points on the run were errors by Wentworth and one was a kill by junior Koby Sherman. Down 23-16, Wentworth came back, but Stevens held on to win 25-23.
• The Leopards jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set two and led the rest of the way. The closest the Ducks would get is within two at 8-6, as Wentworth was able to get back into the match and win the second set 25-19.
• Looking to retake the lead in the match, Stevens got out to 10-4 lead, as Moran and Sherman combined for three aces. Leading 12-6, Feulner and Sherman recorded back-to-back kills to put Stevens up eight. Stevens dominated the rest of the way, and closed the set with kills from Bickford and Sherman to win 25-17.
• With the opportunity to close the match, Stevens jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the fourth set. The Leopards then scored the next three to tie the set at eight. Down 12-11, the Ducks scored four straight points, three of which were Duck kills. Lancia, Sherman, and sophomore Tyler Hoke each had one. Stevens held a 22-21 lead, but the Leopards scored the last four points to force a fifth set.
• Stevens once again led for the majority of the fifth set but gave away the lead at the end. The Ducks led 10-9 before Wentworth ended the match by scoring the final six points.

The Rundown (MIT)

• Needing a response after the loss, the Ducks let the Beavers hang around the whole match. They led 9-6 early, with Sherman having two of the four kills early on. Stevens took their largest lead after Sherman tallied an ace that put Stevens up 16-11. MIT got within one at 20-19, but the two teams traded points the rest of the way, as the Ducks squeaked by with a 25-23 win.
• Stevens led 6-3 early in the second, but the Beavers then scored three-straight to tie the game at six. Stevens continued to lead for most of the set, and led by as much as four at 17-13. Lancia and Feulner combined for five kills in the set. Despite the Ducks leading most of the way, Stevens again blew the lead, as MIT rattled off 12 of the final 17 points, including a 5-0 run in the middle of that, to take the second set 25-22.
• The roles reversed in the third set as the Beavers were the ones who led early. The home side held leads of 6-2, 9-4, 13-6, 15-8, and 17-11. The Ducks had enough at that point, seven of the next eight to get within one. Bickford had two kills on the run. This time, MIT blew the lead, as Stevens tallied five of the last six points to win the set 25-22. Bickford added two more kills to help seal the set win.
• With the opportunity to win the match, Stevens didn't disappoint, as the No. 1 team in the nation picked up their first win of the day by taking the fourth set. Feulner and Bickford once again shined, as they both had two kills in part of a 10-4 run to open the game. Stevens trailed just twice in the frame. This time with a 23-20 lead late, the Ducks held on to secure the win.

Top Performers

• Bickford finished the MIT match with a hitting percentage of .779, going seven for nine with zero errors in two sets played.
• Hoke tallied six blocks against Wentworth.
• Feulner matched his career-high with nine blocks against MIT.
• Junior Jesse Knuckles tallied 17 digs against Wentworth.
• Feulner led the Ducks with 27 points on the day.
• Moran had a double-double against Wentworth.

For the Opponents

• Josh Milke had 44 assists for Wentworth.
• Jacob LaBouliere tallied 17 kills for Wentworth.
• Grant Oh had 21 kills while Nicholas Gustafson had 17 to pace MIT.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference 

• Marymount 3, Stevenson 2 F/THUR
• Misericordia 3, Cairn 0 F/THUR
• Immaculata 0, Eastern 3 F/THUR
• Eastern 0, Marymount 3
• Lehman 0, King's 3
• Drew 0, Messiah 3
• Eastern 2, Virginia Wesleyan 3
• Baruch 2, Arcadia 3
• Misericordia 3, Juniata 2
• Neumann 0, King's 3
• Misericordia 0, St. John Fisher 3

Up Next

• No. 1 Men's Volleyball has a quick turnaround as they have a matchup with Baruch on Tuesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. The Ducks are 19-3 all-time against Baruch, including winning the last 10 matchups in the series. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.