On January 16, before most of us got to campus, the Men’s Volleyball team started off their season with a tri-match against Saint Joseph’s Long Island and Drew. The tri-match took place at Stevens in our beloved Canavan Arena. The home crowd was not disappointed as the Ducks secured back-to-back wins to start the season strong.
The opening match was the Stevens Ducks against the Golden Eagles of Saint Joseph’s Long Island. The Ducks hit the ground running as the first point of the match went to junior Alex Olcott. This good form continued into the rest of the first set as Stevens soon found themselves 10-5 up after a service ace by senior Phillip Bone. The Ducks closed out the opening set with a 25-16 win.
The second set started much closer than the first. The teams were going blow for blow as they traded points. However, Stevens had the edge with a series of one or two-point leads. The Ducks started to pull away, and with a kill from sophomore Nick Schmidt, they were 10-6 up. They held their lead to the end of the set as junior Ryan Schmid delivered the final blow to end the second set 25-16, the same score as the first.
The final set began with the Golden Eagles taking their first lead of the match as they went 3-2 up. However, Stevens then proceeded to take the next six points, leaving them with a five-point cushion. The Ducks only widened the lead from there by capitalizing on errors and getting crucial kills, including a service ace from senior Tyler Hoke. Stevens won 25-11, taking both the set and the match.
The second match was against the Rangers of Drew. In the opening set, the teams started off evenly matched. Neither team was able to get a multipoint lead, and the set went on to be tied at 8-8. But suddenly, the Ducks showed their class and built a six-point lead, taking the score to 14-8. The Ducks then comfortably rounded out the set 25-16. Crucially, the team managed to get a whopping five aces in one set, more than they got in the entire match against Saint Joseph’s Long Island.
Stevens started the second set on the back foot as they conceded the first two points. They then impressively took the next six, alleviating any worries the crowd might have had. Among the scorers was sophomore Bennett Heydorn, who got two service aces. Sophomore Joshua Levandoske and graduate student Julius Stiemer scored considerable points as the Ducks won 25-18. The final set of the day was dominated by the Ducks as they started with a 6-1 lead. They then held at least a four-point lead for the entire set. They impressively took 17 of the last 25 points and ended the set and match 25-12.
Throughout the day, Stevens impressed and showed discipline. They won all six sets of the day comfortably. This was an amazing start to the season, and we should all be excited to watch them continue to make us proud.
