On Sunday, January 15 in Patchogue, New York, the Stevens men’s volleyball team defeated St. John Fisher University and St. Joseph’s College of Long Island during a tri-match at the Danzi Athletic Center, hosted by St. Joseph’s. The team beat St. John Fisher University across four sets at a margin of 19-25, 25-13, 25-12, and 25-18, and swept St. Joseph’s at margins of 25-19, 25-21, and 25-22 for each match.
Although the volleyball team lost one of their recent matches due to multiple players being injured, there is no doubt that the No. 4 men’s volleyball team is still off to a strong start after their record-breaking season.
During the game at the Danzi Athletic Center, the men’s volleyball team had some impressive plays, including senior Percy Bickford’s 27 total kills across the two matches, first year Phillip Bone’s 10 kills and eight digs against the Cardinals, and sophomore Koby Sherman’s seven kills. Another impressive highlight of the match was junior Phu-Quy Ho’s career-high of 10 digs in the Ducks’ sweep against St. Joseph’s. This is particularly impressive since this marks the fourth time across five seasons that the Ducks have opened the schedule with at least three straight wins.
Moreover, Bickford was “outstanding” in the victory over the Cardinals, as he had 14 kills on 18 swings with just one error, giving him a .722 hitting percentage for the match. He also had three kills in the first and fourth set and four in both the second and third sets.
Although St. John Fisher University won the opening set (.435 hitting percentage), the Men’s Volleyball forced them into 19 kills and 18 errors across the other three sets. Additionally, the team increased their attack percentage in the second and third sets, and they worked up to a .435 hitting percentage in the third set.
After being down 0-1 from the first set, senior Christopher Varseveld was able to put the Ducks on the board. This then sparked a 5-1 run that gave the Ducks a 5-2 lead. Throughout the rest of the match, the Ducks maintained their lead, and a 7-0 run pushed the lead to 21-10, and the frame was closed out after a Ducks’ 4-0 run.
During the final set, the Ducks went on a five-point run and closed out the victory by scoring four of the final five points. Additionally, during the match against St. Joseph’s, the Ducks had a match-high of .393 in the opening set. Although the Golden Eagles won the first point of the match, Stevens went on a 7-1 run to take control of the set. Bone and Sherman recorded two kills during that stretch and the Ducks never looked back. A four-point swing pushed the lead to 21-16, and a kill from Varseveld and an error from St. Joe’s closed out the set.
As for the second set, Stevens had an early lead and was able to hold a slim lead throughout the frame. During the final set, the lead was pushed to 23-18. An ace from sophomore Hunter Schmidt closed out the sweep.
Since this match, Men’s Volleyball took a loss against Sacred Heart University at a margin of 2-3. The team also won both of their matches in the Stevens Tri-Match, sweeping both No. 5 Vassar College and Elms College. The team’s next match is January 28 at 2 p.m. against No. 2 Springfield College in the Canavan Arena.
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