HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 11, 2024) – Graduate student Louden Moran reached the 3,000 career assist mark as the second-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team defeated fifth-seeded Arcadia 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) Thursday night in the MAC Semifinals inside Canavan Arena.
Moran becomes just the second player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists, joining Kevin Aeckerle '15 as the only two to achieve the feat. Aeckerle tallied 3,887 assists during his time at Stevens. Moran is also one of just five active players in Division III to reach the 3,000 career assist mark.
With the win, Stevens advances to the MAC Championship match, which will take place in Canavan Arena for the third straight year. The Ducks will be aiming to extend their run of consecutive conference championships to three. With the victory, the Ducks extended their winning streak to 27 in improving to 30-1.
Moran picked up 29 assists, four digs, and two kills. Sophomore Tyler Hoke had six blocks for the Ducks.
Stevens hit .316 for the match, including .440 in the first set. The Knights hit -0.23 for the match.
The Ducks are now 11-0 all-time against Arcadia. The Ducks have now taken down the Knights twice this season, after having previously swept Arcadia on the road back on March 15. Stevens also improved to 14-0 inside Canavan Arena this year. Arcadia finishes the season 17-13.
The Rundown
- Stevens started the first set out with a bang, as they scored the first six points of the match. Moran along with graduate students Connor Feulner, Nathan Lancia, and Percy Bickford each contributed with a kill. Despite Arcadia scoring the next two points, Stevens scored the following three and forced Arcadia to call a timeout as they led the Knights 9-2. Arcadia was able to cut into the deficit a bit, as they trailed just 17-11 a little bit later. Lancia was able to put the Ducks up eight after that, as he tallied back-to-back kills. Still leading with the score 21-16, Bickford and sophomore Tyler Hoke picked up back-to-back kills to put Stevens up seven. They would go on to win the set by seven.
- The Knights held around to start the second set. They had leads of 4-2 and 7-6, forcing Stevens to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Feulner tallied back-to-back kills and Bickford backed that up with an ace in part of a 5-0 Duck run, which forced the Knights to burn a timeout. Arcadia came back and took a 13-12 lead, but the Ducks scored the following three points, two of which were kills by junior Koby Sherman, as Stevens went up two. Later leading 16-15, the Ducks rattled off four-in-a-row, capped off by a Lancia kill, to take a 19-15 lead. Moran would then reach the 3,000 career assist mark late in the set, as he assisted graduate student Christopher Varseveld to reach the milestone. Stevens won the set two points later.
- The third set started like the second, as Arcadia is the one who gained control early. They scored five of the first six and eight of the first ten as they led 8-2. Down 9-4, the Ducks were able to secure seven of the next eight points to take a 11-10 lead, forcing Arcadia to call a timeout. The two teams would then continue to battle out, as they were deadlocked at 17. Bickford broke the tie for the Ducks by getting a kill, which was the first of three-straight for Stevens as they went up three. They ended up scoring eight of the final 10 in the match as they secured the sweep victory.
Top Performers
- Feulner finished the match with a hitting percentage of .462 on 13 attacks. He had a team-high eight kills.
- Bickford and Sherman each added seven kills.
- Bickford tallied six digs while four other Ducks picked up four.
- Sherman also recorded three blocks.
- Lancia added six kills.
For the Opponents
- Andrew Ahn had eight kills.
- Danny Gonzalez recorded five kills, five digs, four aces, and three blocks.
- Riley Kodidek tallied 16 assists.
Around the Middle Atlantic Conference
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