Chester, Pa. – The No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team collected two sweeps in a Widener-hosted tri-match on Saturday, downing the host Pride 25-15, 25-11, 25-15 in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action before knocking off Ramapo 25-22, 25-18, 25-15.

Stevens (18-4, 5-0) showed off its full complement of weapons on both ends of the court, as five players notched at least eight kills, two recorded at least 20 assists, and three finished with at least three total blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED – Widener
Stevens took five of six points after dropping the first point of the match, growing the lead to 9-4, then 13-6, and eventually 20-10, as the Pride trailed by at least two points from the 6-4 mark on. The teams alternated each of the final 10 points of the set, with Stevens cashing in on a trio of errors from the Pride for a 1-0 lead; Stevens hit an astounding .625 for the set (11 kills, 1 error, 16 swings).
 
Ther second set started much like the first, with Widener taking the opening point before things played out into a 6-4 lead for the Ducks. Six of the next seven points opened a comfortable 12-5 cushion for Stevens, then after trading the next nine points mostly back and forth, an 8-0 run turned a 16-10 frame into set point for Stevens, who took a two-set lead two points later; the Ducks held Widener to a -.087 attack percentage thanks in large part to a trio of assisted blocks, plus a solo block from Esteban Schmitt.
 
After committing just two errors on 35 swings between the first two sets, the Ducks hit an errorless .536 (15 kills, 28 swings) in the third set. Widener kept things close into the latter stages of the set, pulling to within four points on three separate occasions as late as 19-15, but three kills and three attack errors produced a match-ending 6-0 run for Stevens.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – Widener

• The Ducks hit .524 for the match, their first time this season hitting over .460 and their first time over .500 since hitting .549 against Hood on March 30, 2024
• The team's two attack errors were its fewest in a match since March 23, 2023 against MIT, when they also committed just two
• For the first time since March 17, 2023 against Hood, the Ducks did not concede a single block of any kind (solo or assisted)
• Julius Stiemer had a match-high 12 kills and Ryan Schmid had 11
• Quinn Bozarth had 27 assists and three assisted blocks
• Greg Li had a match-high five total blocks

HOW IT HAPPENED – Ramapo
The Ducks withstood one Ramapo charge after another in the first as the Roadrunners held leads on two different occasions and tied things four times from the 10-10 mark on, including 22-all, before Cade Allen closed out the set with three straight kills, his third, fourth, and fifth of the frame.

After hitting just 0.160 in the first set (10 kills, six errors, 25 swings), the Ducks finished the second at a 0.462 clip (13 kills, one error, 26 swings). Allen had another five, Bennett Heydorn had four, and Phillip Bone had two while the Ducks kept the Roadrunners' attack percentage under 0.100 for the second straight frame. The Ducks took a 9-4 lead and maintained at least a four-point edge the rest of the way.
 
Three kills and three Ramapo errors put the Ducks up 6-0 in the third. Ramapo worked the deficit back to four on seven different occasions, but did not pull closer, as the Ducks closed out the day's second sweep in style with a 5-0 run, courtesy of two Nick Schmidt kills, one from Colin Holden, a Jacob Lobdell service ace, and Heydorn kill on match point.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – Ramapo

• Allen finished with 11 errorless kills, hitting .550; Heydorn added eight kills, and Bone added seven
• Schmidt had 23 assists, five kills on six attempts, and a team-best seven digs
• Lobdell had three assisted blocks and a pair of service aces

UP NEXT
The Ducks will host No. 2 Messiah next Saturday at 1 PM at Canavan Arena in a clash between MAC Tournament finalists three of the last four years.

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