DUBUQUE, IOWA (April 26, 2024) – Junior Koby Sherman finished with a team-high 21 kills and added eight digs, but it wasn't enough as the No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team fell to No. 4 Cal Lutheran 3-2 (25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 14-16) Friday in the semifinal round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The match was played at Loras College.

The defending national champions bow out in the semifinal round, which ends a 30-game winning streak. It was just the third time this season Stevens had a match go to five sets. They finished 1-2 in those matches. This was the third-straight trip to the national semifinals for the Ducks, having won it all last season and dropping a match to Springfield in 2022. 

Despite the loss, Stevens, led by American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coach of the Year Dan Buehring, had a program record winning percentage (.943), only losing two matches the entire season (33-2). The Ducks were dominant all season, winning 22 of their matches via sweep. They were superb at home, finishing the year with a record of 17-0. They are still currently on a 54-game winning streak inside Canavan Arena. Stevens also went a perfect 10-0 in true road games. Both of their losses this season came at a neutral site. 

The Ducks had two first-team AVCA All-Americans in Sherman and graduate student Connor Feulner, who both showed out in tonight's match. To go along with Sherman's 21 and 8 night, he added four blocks and an ace. Feulner picked up eight kills, five blocks, and two digs. Graduate student Louden Moran, an AVCA Honorable Mention selection and one of the best setters in program history, recorded 50 assists in tonight's match to go along with 12 digs and four kills.

It was a tale of two halves for the Ducks, who had a commanding 2-0 lead. The Ducks hit .371 in the first set and .433 in the second set, while the Kingsmen hit .158 and .286. The tide turned in the third however, as Cal Lutheran out hit Stevens .333 to .250 in the third. Stevens hit one of their lowest percentages of the season in the fourth at .045, while Cal Lutheran hit .114. Stevens out hit Cal Lutheran in the fifth set, but the Kingsmen were able to edge out the Ducks.

Cal Lutheran moves on to the championship match and will play the winner of the other semifinal between No. 7 NYU and No. 8 Vassar. Stevens falls to 0-2 all-time against the Kingsmen, losing both matches in five sets.

The Rundown

• Cal Lutheran took an early 7-3 lead in the first set.
• Trailing 8-4, Feulner picked up a kill followed by a Kingsmen error to make it a two point game.
• The Kingsmen led for most of the set and had a 17-14 lead before Stevens went on a four point run to surge into the lead. Graduate student Nathan Lancia recorded three-straight kills to start the run.
• Later up 21-20, Stevens again rattled off four in a row as they took set number one.
• The momentum from set one rolled into the second as Moran recorded a kill for the first point of the frame. Sophomore Tyler Hoke backed that up with a kill as the Ducks would take a 3-0 lead.
• Junior Tyler Christensen tallied a service ace that gave Stevens a 7-2 lead.
• Leading 13-8, Hoke and graduate student Percy Bickford tallied back-to-back kills, followed by another ace from Christensen, as the Ducks went up 16-8.
• The last five points by the Ducks in the set came via kill as Stevens cruised to a 25-16 set two win and led 2-0 for the match.
• Stevens had an early 4-2 lead in the second set as Sherman and Bickford each picked up kills.
• The Kingsmen dominated the middle portion of the set as they took a 16-11 lead.
• Now trailing 21-17, the Ducks crawled their way back into things with three-straight points. Sherman recorded two of them with kills.
• Cal Lutheran was able to settle down and take the third set as they now trailed only 2-1.
• Tied at three in the fourth, the Kingsmen scored five-in-a-row to go up 8-3.
• Down 12-8, Stevens scored seven of the next eight as they soared into a 15-13 lead. Feulner tallied an ace and a kill on the run, while the rest of the Ducks points were off of Cal Lutheran errors.
• Stevens led 17-14, but the Kingsmen responded with a 7-1 run of their own as they now led 21-18.
• The Ducks scored the next three to tie the match, kick started by a kill from Bickford.
• Tied at 22, Cal Lutheran scored three of the final four to tie things up at two sets a piece.
• Cal Lutheran scored three of the first four in the fifth, but a kill from Sherman sparked a 3-0 run from the Ducks as they led 4-3.
• Trailing 5-4, Bickford and Sherman combined for three kills all assisted by Moran in part of a 4-0 run that put the Ducks up 8-5.
• The Ducks led 10-6, but the Kingsmen scored the next five to lead 11-10.
• Tied at 14, Cal Lutheran won a pivotal point on a block that gave them a one point advantage.
• The Kingsmen aced the final point down the right side as they secured the victory and advanced to the final.

Top Performers

• Bickford had 11 kills and nine digs.
• Lancia recorded 10 kills and six digs.
• Hoke had three blocks while Lancia and Moran each picked up two.
• Hoke produced nine kills.
• Stevens had 16 service errors in the match.

For the Opponents

• Jordan Cooper picked up 24 kills and seven digs.
• Michael Stahl added 23 kills and nine digs.

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