The Stevens Men’s Volleyball team has been a dominating force throughout the spring 2024 season, as their overall record now stands at 31-1, as well as 8-0 for in-conference matchups. This was further confirmed by their commanding performance in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships, where they first defeated Arcadia University in the MAC Semifinals on Thursday, April 11, 3-0 and then followed up with another 3-0 sweep against Misericordia University in the MAC Championship game on Saturday, April 13.
In the semifinal game against Arcadia, the Ducks went 3-0, with set scores of 25-17, 25-18, and 25-19. While not only providing an impressive win to advance the team to the MAC Championships, this game also allowed graduate student Louden Moran to achieve 3,000 career assists. He is only the second player in program history to achieve such a milestone, and only one of five active players across the entirety of Division III to reach this achievement.
In the championship game against Misericordia, once again, the Ducks recorded a 3-0 sweep, with set scores of 25-13, 25-17, and 25-17. This win marks the program’s third consecutive MAC Championship, and it provides the team an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament, where they will have the chance to defend the national championship title they won last year. Additionally, this win adds yet another to the Ducks’ winning streak of 28 games. This win was truly a team effort, and as such, many impressive individual performances resulted from this game. Junior Koby Sherman was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament, his third time in a row receiving this accolade, and it was rightfully awarded, as he tallied nine kills on ten swings with just one error in only this one game alone. Among other strong performances on the team were graduate student Connor Feulner’s six kills on nine swings with just one error and Moran adding 23 assists to his previous milestone-breaking 3,000 assists from the semifinal game. Additionally, junior Sebastian Huyke tallied six assists, while graduate students Nathan Lancia and Feulner, along with senior Carver Weirick, each served an ace.
As a team, the Ducks averaged a 0.483 hitting percentage, marking the second-highest hitting percentage of the season so far. Additionally, the overall team effort truly helped the Ducks secure the win, as nine different players recorded at least one kill in the game.
Following the impressive conference finish, the MAC and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) awarded many of the team’s players. Sherman was named MAC Player of the Year and Feulner was named MAC Defensive Player of the year, as well as both being named to the AVCA All-Region III Team alongside Moran, graduate student Percy Bickford, and sophomore Tyler Hoke. Head coach Dan Buerhring earned his third straight MAC Coach of the Year award.
The Ducks will return to play in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a game against Hiram College on Friday, April 19, in Canavan Arena.
