The Stevens men’s volleyball team has been making huge strides as they enter the postseason, including a MAC Championship for a second-straight year and a bid to the NCAA tournament, where they have already won two games against Geneva College and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
On April 15, the Ducks played in the MAC Freedom Championship match against Messiah University at Canavan Arena. They defeated Messiah with a score of 3-2 to win the MAC Championship title, qualifying the team for the NCAA tournament. This marks the ninth time in Stevens’ history that the Ducks have qualified for the NCAA tournament. During this strong-fought game, many impressive performances came about, including from sophomore Koby Sherman, whose 16 kills and career high seven aces led him to be named MAC Championship MVP for the second season in a row. Other strong performances came from senior Percy Bickford, who had 10 kills and five digs, senior Connor Feulner, with 2 kills and four blocks, and senior Louden Moran, who had 40 assists and eight digs.
The Ducks advanced to play in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Geneva on April 21, where Stevens won with a 3-0 sweep. All 17 of the players on the Stevens roster played in this game. Bickford had nine kills, and first-year Tyler Hoke had three kills and four blocks. Sherman added seven kills and an ace while senior Alex Franke added six kills, and Moran added 21 assists and two aces. Senior Nathan Lancia had five kills and one block.
In the second round of the NCAA tournament on April 22, the Ducks defeated Wentworth 3-1 to advance to the NCAA semifinal. This marks the fifth straight victory for the Ducks, and improves their overall record to 33-3. These 33 wins match a program record from 2004 and 2007. This win also ended Wentworth’s four-game winning streak. Multiple players had strong performances in this game, including Sherman with a match-high 20 kills and Bickford with an impressive 17 kills. Additionally, Feulner added 12 kills and a block while Hoke added eight kills and four blocks.
With this win, the Ducks will move on to the Final Four, where the Ducks will face Messiah University on April 28 at Stevenson University. In each of the last four meetings between the two teams, the Ducks have won every time, including both of the games from this past season. Additionally, this will mark the program’s seventh appearance in the NCAA semifinal game. Best of luck to our Men’s Volleyball team!
