NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 23, 2024) – Junior Koby Sherman had a team-high 11 kills as No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball defeated Baruch College in four sets (25-20, 30-28, 17-25, 25-12) Tuesday in a non-conference match at the Baruch ARC.

Graduate student Connor Feulner chipped in with seven kills on 11 swings without an error, while also totaling three blocks, and classmate Christopher Varseveld had five kills on seven attacks without an error, while also adding three blocks for the Ducks, who won their second straight to improve to 5-1. 

Peter Gavroff had a match-high 16 kills and Jack Centeno added 13 for Baruch, who dropped its second straight match in falling to 0-2. The Ducks have the last 11 meetings with the Bearcats.

Stevens was able to find success at the point of attack, committing a season-low 10 hitting errors on the night. The Ducks produced 12 matches in 2023 where the team committed 10 attack errors or less. Six different players produced at least one kill without any errors and two – graduate student Louden Moran and sophomore Tyler Hoke finished perfect on the night. 

While the Ducks bookend strong attacking performances in the first and fourth sets, statistically, they forced Baruch into its worst two sets of the match in the same time frame. In the opening set, Stevens hit .611, while forcing the Bearcats into just one more kill than error. To improve on that performance, Stevens closed the match by forcing Baruch into four more errors (10) than kills (6).

The Rundown

• The Ducks set an early tone in the opening set with just one attack error. Hoke set down a Moran pass to register the first point of the match and the Ducks never allowed more than two consecutive points until they had accumulated a 20-13 lead after a solo block from graduate student Percy Bickford. Baruch would score three straight points to cut the Ducks' lead to five, but a service error and kill from graduate student Nathan Lancia quickly righted the ship. A kill from first-year Alex Olcott and a Baruch error wrapped up the opening set.
• The second set saw Baruch take control early and the Bearcats reeled off four straight points to force a Stevens timeout in taking a 9-4 lead. Stevens was able to jump back into the fray with an impressive 9-1 run to grab a 13-10 lead. Interestingly, the run was boosted by seven Baruch attack errors – two on Duck blocks – and just two kills. Baruch answered with another run and the teams went back and forth with the lead until the Ducks reeled off four straight points to take a 23-20 lead in the frame. Another Lancia kill brought Stevens to set point, but a Centeno kill and an error drew the teams even. The sides alternated the next seven points with Stevens fighting off three Baruch set points. A service error knotted the teams at 28 and an Olcott kill and a Sherman ace wrapped up the set.
• The third set saw the teams play nip and tuck in the early stages, with neither side able to string together more than two points until Baruch reeled off three straight to take an 11-9 lead. Kills from Sherman and Varseveld kept the Ducks alive, but an 8-0 run boosted Baruch to claim the set. 
• Looking to close out the match, the Ducks wasted little time getting on the board with a double block by Bickford and Varseveld and a Varseveld kill powering the Ducks to an early lead. Stevens would lead the final set wire-to-wire, using a 6-1 run to put a comfortable margin between the teams. Three straight Sherman kills forced a Baruch timeout and the Ducks closed out the match by scoring six of the final eight points. A tandem block from Moran and Varseveld closed out the victory. Stevens totaled 12 blocks on the night, while Baruch had just two.

Top Performers

• Junior Sebastian Huyke had a team-high 22 assists. He's totaled 65 helpers across just six sets this season. 
• Moran had an efficient night, producing a pair of kills on two attacks, with 16 assists and a match-high seven digs. 
• Lancia finished with a team-high four blocks, two of which were of the solo variety.
• Olcott had the Ducks' other ace on the night.

For the Opponents

• Ryan Oomen handed out a match-high 41 assists. 
• Jackson Newcomb led all players with three aces.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference 

• No. 18 Misericordia 3, Lancaster Bible 1

Up Next

• No. 2 Men's Volleyball heads to Grantham, Pennsylvania on Jan. 27 for the Messiah University Invitational, hosted by the 15th-ranked Falcons. The Ducks, who will face Messiah later in the year, will take on No. 12 Juniata and Lancaster Bible College. The Ducks have won the last nine matchups with Juniata and will be facing the Chargers for the first time since 2020. Links for live stats and video for both matches are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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