Hoboken, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team's 2026 season came to a close Friday night with a five-set loss in their NCAA Championship First Round match against MIT.

Stevens (25-6) dropped the first set, then won the second and third, but MIT (24-7) took the fourth and fifth for the win.

How It Happened
MIT took the first four points of the match, but Stevens took six of the next eight, tying the match at 6-6. The Engineers went back up 9-6 but again the Ducks came back, taking their first lead at 13-12, eventually forcing an MIT timeout at 14-12. Stevens pushed the lead out to 17-14, but MIT reeled off three straight points, forcing a Stevens timeout at 17-all. The seesaw set continued with Stevens jumping back in front 20-18 – forcing MIT's second timeout--, but MIT tied things at 20, then 21, then yet again at 22. MIT went back in front 23-22, then after Stevens' final timeout, notched their fifth service ace, creating two set point opportunities. Stevens fought off the first but could not repeat the feat as the Engineers took the set, 25-23.

Playing out much like the first set, MIT took the first three points of the second, only for the Ducks to take the next four. The teams alternated each of the next seven points before Stevens rans off three in a row, grabbing a 10-7 lead and forcing an MIT timeout. Stevens still led 12-9 before MIT pulled back to 12-11, then 13-12 before tying the set at 15 and 16, though the Ducks took the next three points as MIT took its second timeout suddenly down 19-16. The Ducks pushed the margin out to five, 23-18, eventually evening the match with a 25-21 set win. After hitting just .103 in the first set, the Ducks hit .267 in the second, while yielding no service aces from the Engineers, who committed five service errors.

Flipping the script from the first two sets, Stevens took control early in the third with five of the first six points and seven of the first 10 before MIT worked things back to a tie score at 7-7. At the 11-9 mark (in favor of the Ducks), the two sides alternated each of the next nine points before two straight Julius Stiemer kills + an MIT attack error put the Ducks back up four, 18-14, forcing an MIT timeout. The Ducks' lead dwindled slightly to 19-17, but four straight produced the largest lead of the night for either side, 23-17, as the Ducks closed out four points later, 25-19, for a 2-1 advantage. The Ducks hit an astounding .533 in the set (18 kills, two errors, 30 swings) and were the beneficiaries of four more MIT service errors.

The fourth set began with 3-3 and 6-6 ties before MIT opened a 9-6 lead that the Ducks worked back to 11-10 before a 4-1 spurt put the Engineers up 15-11, forcing a Stevens timeout. The lead grew to 16-11 before the Ducks closed to 17-15, though two straight from MIT drew the second timeout of the set from the Ducks' sideline at 19-15. The next dozen points were traded mostly back and forth, with MIT forcing the winner-take-all fifth, 25-21.

The fifth set featured as many ties by the 5-5 mark (four) as the entirety of the fourth set and finished with more (10) than the third and fourth sets combined (seven). Aside from a 3-1 Stevens lead, the set remained within one point either way until MIT took a 13-11 lead. After a Ducks timeout at 14-11, MIT clinched the win two points later.

Inside The Box Score

• Five players – Stiemer, Ryan Schmid, Tyler Hoke, Joshua Levandoske, and Esteban Schmitt all had at least seven kills
• The Ducks finished the year averaging 12.8 kills per set, their highest total in a (full) season since 2018
• Defensively, the team ended the year averaging 11.1 digs per set, their highest total in a (full) season since at least 2012
• Hoke finished his Stevens' career hitting .396 with 62 total blocks and 302 total blocks – all three marks rank among the Top 10 in program history

Up Next
The Ducks will return to the court in January 2027.

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