HOBOKEN, N.J. – The No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team went 1-1 on Saturday, picking up a 3-0 win over Widener in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play before falling in five sets to No. 1 NYU.
 
The Ducks (18-4, 4-0 MAC) remained perfect in conference play with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-18 win over the Pride, then pushed NYU to the brink (21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 9-15).

HOW IT HAPPENED - Widener
Stevens took the match's first five points, featuring back-to-back service aces from Bennett Heydorn. The Pride pulled back within three at 8-5, but Philip Bone added two more service aces back-to-back, pushing the Ducks back out in front by six, 11-5. Up 13-7, the Ducks conceded five straight, but answered right back with five straight, featuring (again) back-to-back Heydorn service aces. Up 19-15, two straight Bone kills ignited a 6-1 spurt to close out the set
 
Neither side held more than a two-point lead over the first two dozen points of the second set before Stevens finally took a 14-11 lead. Five different players recorded at least one kill during the early stages of the set – Hunter Schmidt, Ryan Schmid, Greg Li, Bone, Heydorn. Widener pulled back within a point, 18-17, but conceded the next two points via error and Heydorn, Schmidt, Bone, and Schmid (twice) closed out the set with five kills in a span of eight points.
 
Stevens trailed 3-2 in the third, but took seven of the following eight points, seizing a 10-4 lead, thanks in large part to five Widener (12-8, 0-3 MACF) errors. The Ducks held at least a four-point cushion until the Pride closed to 15-13, the first of three two-point deficits, but three more Widener errors helped Stevens push a 17-15 lead out to 22-15. One more Widener error and kills from Schmidt & Bone closed out the set and sweep.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED - NYU
After trailing 12-9, 13-10, and 16-13, the Ducks rallied for an 18-17 lead in the first set, but conceded eight of the final 11 points as the Violets took a 1-0 lead. Koby Sherman finished the frame with nine kills, including five of Stevens' first six points.
 
Tied at two in the second, Joshua Levandoske bookended a 4-0 spurt with two kills, Sherman and Sebastian Huyke adding one apiece between Levandoske's two. Tyler Hoke, Alex Oclcott, Esteban Schmitt, and Sherman combined for five kills during Stevens' next eight points, as the Ducks opened a 14-9 advantage. NYU did not draw closer than four the rest of the set, Levandoske, Olcott, and Hoke combining for five kills and NYU committing four errors during the closing stretch of the frame. Stevens notched 14 kills on just 26 total swings in the set, recording a match-best .500 hitting percentage.
 
With the match now a best-of-3, Stevens led 7-3 in the third, but conceded the next seven points. The Ducks closed to 17-16, but with a chance to re-take the lead, committed back-to-back attack errors. The Red and Gray pulled back within two on five occasions late, but NYU held off every Stevens charge, taking a 2-1 lead. Sherman had four more kills in the set; Hoke and Levandoske had two each.
 
The fourth set was as tightly contested as any this season for the Ducks, neither side holding more than a two-point lead at any point, and only four instances of a team scoring two consecutive points through the first 33 points of the frame. Stevens trailed 2-1, led 3-2, trailed 14-12, led 19-17, then after NYU rallied from a 22-20 deficit to tie at 23, Stevens held tough, pushing the match to the winner-take-all fifth. Sherman (four), Olcott (three), and Schmitt (two) combined for nine of Stevens' 13 kills during the set.
 
In the fifth, Stevens closed to within one at 6-5, within two at 8-6, and within three at 10-7, but from the opening point, NYU (19-0) took a lead it did not relinquish. Stevens recorded eight of its nine points in the set on kills, including three more from Sherman and two more from Schmitt.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Vs. Widener)

• The duo of Kevin Herbst and Nick Schmidt combined for 25 of Stevens' 29 assists.
• Heydorn finished with five service aces without recording a single service error.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Vs. NYU)

• Stevens became just the fourth team to push NYU to a fourth set this season and the second to push them to a fifth.
• Huyke set career highs with 46 assists and 14 digs.
• Sherman matched his season high with 23 kills, and set a season high with 26.5 points courtesy of two solo blocks and three block assists.

UP NEXT
The Ducks head to Pennsylvania for two MAC matches in two days, beginning Wednesday night at 7:00 against Messiah.

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