Dallas, Pa. – The No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team improved its Middle Atlantic Conference winning streak to 51 straight matches with a sweep of Misericordia on Thursday night.

Stevens (16-4, 4-0) survived an opening set featuring high-efficiency offense from both teams before making quick(er) work of both the second and third sets.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Early 2-0 and 4-2 leads for Stevens turned into an 11-8 edge for Misericordia in the first set. The Ducks remained close, but Misericordia remained in front until four straight points, including two Julius Stiemer service aces, turned a 19-16 Stevens deficit into a 20-19 lead. Following a brief back and forth that included the Cougars going in front 22-21, two Joshua Levandoske kills helped spur another four straight for the Ducks who took the opening set, 25-22. The Ducks hit .462 for the set, adding four aces while conceding none defensively.

After Misericordia hit .522 (15 kills, 3 errors, 23 attacks) in the first set, the Stevens defense stifled them in the second set, holding them to .080 (seven kills, five errors, 25 attacks) while hitting .387 (15 kills, 3 errors, 31 attacks) themselves. The Ducks scored the first two points of the set and did not relinquish the lead, nor even allow Misericordia to tie the rest of the way, taking the set by a 25-14 score. Stiemer and Levandoske combined for 10 kills, more than the entire Cougars' team.

As strong as the Ducks looked in the second set, they looked even stronger in the third, hitting a whopping .500 (16 kills, two errors, 28 attacks) to Misericordia's .083 (seven kills, five errors, 24 attacks). Apart from a 2-2 tie, the Ducks again led for the entire set, with Stiemer and Levandoske again combining for 10 kills, as Stevens took leads of 11-4 and 20-10, putting a definitive stamp on the sweep, taking the set, 25-13.

The Ducks did not drop three straight points on any occasion over the final two sets.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stiemer and Levandoske finished with 26 kills between them – Stiemer had 15 and hit .520; Levandoske had 11 with no errors, hitting .647
• Ryan Schmid added nine kills, five digs, and a pair of assisted blocks
• Tyler Hoke, Greg Li, and Quinn Bozarth combined for nine kills with no errors between them; Hoke added two assisted blocks; Li had two solo blocks and two assisted blocks; Bozarth added 35 assists, his fifth 30+ set match of the year and third in his last seven outings
• The Ducks hit .447, their third-highest total in a match this season, and conceded just 2.5 total blocks, their second-fewest allowed this year

 
UP NEXT
Stevens will partake in a Widener-hosted tri-match this Saturday, March 14, where the Ducks will face the host Pride at 1:00, then Ramapo at 3:00.

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