HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 17, 2024) – Junior Koby Sherman dropped 10 kills in the opening match of the day, while first-year Alex Olcott produced eight in match two, as the No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball beat both Benedictine 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-19) and Bard 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-13,) Saturday in a tri-match inside Canavan Arena.

The Ducks raised their 2023 National Championship banner and received their rings prior to the match against Benedictine.

First-year Nick Schmidt guided the Ducks with 22 assists on the day. Graduate student Louden Moran totaled 17 assists,  while junior Sebastian Huyke also added eight.

Stevens held both squads to under .100 hitting percentages, as Benedictine was able to hit .080, while Bard mustered a .093 percentage. Stevens hit well once again, hitting .382 against Bard, and .246 against Benedictine.

Stevens sees their winning streak rise to 13-straight games with the victories this afternoon. The Ducks are also a perfect 6-0 inside Canavan Arena. It was the first-ever meeting between the Ducks and Eagles, while the Ducks are 18-0 all-time against the Raptors.

The Rundown (Benedictine)

• After splitting the four points, Stevens scored the next four points to take an early 6-2 lead. First-year Tyler Hoke and Sherman each had kills early on. The Eagles scored the next two points, which the Ducks answered with two of their own. With a 11-7 lead, graduate student Connor Feulner laid down an ace to put the Ducks up five. The Ducks would lead 19-13, but the Eagles scored the next three points to get within 16. Graduate student Percy Bickford ended the run with an ace that put the Ducks up four. Moran later hit an ace that forced a Benedictine timeout with Stevens up 23-18. Sherman capped off the set for Stevens with a kill, giving them the 25-20 win.
• After dropping the first set, the Eagles got out to a 4-1 start in the second. With Benedictine still up five later on, the Ducks rattled off five-straight points to soar into a 10-8 lead. Bickford and Olcott each had kills on the run. Up 11-9 after another kill from Olcott, graduate student Connor Feulner had an ace, followed by two errors from the Eagles, that put the Ducks up 14-9 and forced a timeout from the Eagles. Sherman would tally another kill that put Stevens in front 16-11. Stevens took their largest lead of the set at 23-16, when Sherman recorded another kill. Stevens would go on to win 25-18.
• Feulner kicked off the third set with an ace for the Ducks. Graduate student Christopher Varseveld had a massive kill for the Ducks to make it 4-4. Later up 7-6, Sherman and graduate student Nathan Lancia recorded back-to-back kills to go up three. Benedictine scored six of the next seven points as they retook the lead. Stevens scored the next three, capped off by an ace from Huyke. With the score tied at 15, Stevens rattled off six of the next seven as they took a 21-15 lead. Varseveld had one kill, while the rest of the points on the run came from Eagle errors. The Ducks would hold on and close out the set to earn the sweep.

The Rundown (Bard)

• The Ducks started only first-years to open the match against Bard. After being tied 2-2, the Ducks took four points in a row to take a 6-2 lead. First-years Joshua Levandoske and Ryan Schmid each had a kill. Later up 10-5, Stevens rattled off seven-straight points, which included an ace from first-year Esteban Schmitt. From there, Olcott tallied two kills, while three Ducks contributed one, as they blew out Bard 25-9 in the first.
• Buzzing from the blowout in set one, Stevens went up 6-1 to start the second, as first-year Jefferson Overheu paced the Ducks with two kills. With Stevens leading 9-5, they scored five of the next six to go up eight. The Ducks would later lead 18-12 and rattle off four more points to take a big 10 point advantage. Olcott and Schmid added kills on the short run. The Ducks would take set two to lead 2-0.
• Stevens completed their second sweep of the day and their seventh out of the last nine matches, as they took care of the Raptors in set three. Stevens led 5-1 to start, with Levandoske tallying two aces early. With the home side up 14-10, Stevens won three points in a row, including a kill from first-year Dominic Ambrose, that gave the Ducks a large lead. Stevens won six of the last seven points in the set to claim the victory. Three of the final six points were aces, with two coming off the hand of junior Kevin Herbst, and one from junior Jesse Knuckles.

Top Performers

• Sherman finished the Benedictine match with a hitting percentage of .316 on 19 attacks. He also had three blocks and four digs.
• Feulner had three aces against Benedictine
• Lancia had three kills and five digs against Benedictine.
• The Ducks had 11 service aces against Bard.
• Levandoske tallied seven kills and six blocks.
• Feulner and Alex Franke '23 pulled the cover off the new banner.

For the Opponents

• Brannen Almarales recorded 14 kills and five digs for Benedictine.
• Spencer VanEngen tallied 30 assists and three blocks for Benedictine.
• Kincade Avery had seven kills and four digs for Bard.
• Bard had zero blocks against the Ducks.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference 

• King's 0, Widener 3 F/THUR
• Eastern 1, Wilkes 3 F/THUR
• Neumann 0, Widener 3 F/FRI
• Messiah 3, Baldwin Wallace 2 F/FRI
• Messiah 0, North Central 0
• Hood 0, Misericordia 3
• Virginia Wesleyan 0, Stevenson 3
• Hood 1, Mount Aloysius 3
• Messiah 3, Nazareth 0
• Mount Aloysius 0, Misericordia 3

Up Next

• No. 2 Men's Volleyball returns home on Tuesday as they host New Paltz. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. It will be the second meeting of the season, as the Ducks defeated the Hawks at New Paltz 3-1 on February 10. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.