No. 2 Stevens Edges No. 12 Men’s Volleyball

HOBOKEN, NJ – Host and No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology used late runs in all three sets to top the No. 12 Vassar College men’s volleyball team in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action from Canavan Arena Sunday with scores of 25-21, 27-25 and 25-23.
Senior Matthew Knigge posted a match-best 20 kills on the afternoon for the Brewers (9-4, 3-1 UVC), hitting a team-leading .359 on the day. Vassar hit just .171 for the afternoon, despite having more attacks (111-102) than the host Ducks (11-3, 2-0 UVC). Both teams had increasingly difficult times hitting in the match, as the set attacking percentages of both teams decreased throughout the match but the 24 errors for VC was the difference.

Vassar trailed early in the opening set and was down nine at 20-11 after a kill from Cooper Diamond, but VC would rally to get back into the game. Down seven and at set point, Vassar posted three straight points, all coming from sophomore outside hitter Kevin Ros, to force Stevens into a timeout. After the break, the Ducks snatched the first game thanks to a kill from David Lehman.

In the second set, Vassar led by as many as four at 12-8 after an ace by freshman Jefferson Waters, but Stevens responded with a 6-0 run to take a 14-12 lead as Thomas Burrell chalked up three blocks in the stretch for the Ducks. Down five at 20-15, Vassar would rally to tie the set at 21-21 after a kill from Knigge. VC fought off two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but a Gabe Shankweiler kill followed by a Ryan Byrne ace doubled the match lead for the hosts.

The third set was back and forth until Stevens went on a 4-0 run midway through the period to take a 17-14 edge. VC got to within one at 23-22, but the hosts got a kill from Lehman at 24-23 to earn the conference victory. Both teams passed well on the day, combining for just five service aces, while VC won the dig category as well, 38-35.

Senior Zechariah Lee handed out 36 assists for the Brewers Sunday afternoon, adding two blocks and four digs, and Ros posted a double-double of 11 kills on 23 attempts while posting a team-best 10 digs. Ros also added five assisted blocks for the Brewers. Freshman Ryan Duchemin also had three assisted blocks, while freshman Garth Verdeflor had nine digs for VC.

Lehman posted 14 kills on 33 attacks for the Ducks, while Jacob Patterson assisted on 39 finishes while chalking nine digs as well for Stevens. The UVC loss for the Brewers was their first in the last 12 matches, as VC’s last conference loss came in the conference finale against New Paltz back in 2016.