Men's Volleyball Falls To #3 Stevens In Three Sets

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Elms College men's volleyball team fell to host third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-0 (9-25, 23-25, 20-25), in a non-conference battle at the Canavan Arena Sunday afternoon. The Blazers dip to 3-3 on the season, while the Ducks improve to 6-0 overall.

In the first set, the Ducks build a 6-1 lead after a pair of service aces from sophomore Jacob Stillman (St. Louis, Mo.). Elms junior Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) delivered two kills to help the Blazers keep pace at 8-3, but the Ducks pulled away with five straight points, featuring a kill and an acre from sophomore Dylan DeBoer (Vernon Hills, Ill.), to grab a 13-3 advantage. Blazers junior Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) tallied three kills during a 12-6 run by Stevens as the Ducks close the first set with a 25-9 win.

Elms delivered a strong set in the second frame, racing to a 7-1 lead behind two kills and two aces from Reis Levy. Stevens worked away at the deficit with kills from freshman David Lehman (Oakland, Calif.) and senior Gabe Shankweiler (Allentown, Pa.) to make it a 12-8 contest. Reis Levy knocked two more kills for the Blazers to push the advantage to 15-8, but the Ducks responded with a 6-2 run to whittle the gap to 17-14. The sides traded points with two kills from Shankweiler to make it 21-19, followed by a kill from Reis Levy and a Steven error to put Elms on the brink of victory, 23-19. The Ducks mounted a comeback down the stretch, registering six straight points, including two kills from Lehman, to rally to the 25-23 set victory.

The Ducks carried their momentum into the third set, pushing to a 9-3 advantage. The Blazers worked down the lead with a 6-2 run, powered by two kills from Reis Levy and Bondarovsky, to put the score at 11-9. Following a kill from freshman David Hernandez (Springfield, Mass.), an error by the Ducks evened the score at 13-13. Tied at 16-16, Stevens capitalized on errors by Elms and an ace and kill from Shankweiler to pull ahead 21-17. Reis Levy added a pair of late kills for Elms, but Stevens locked up the 25-20 win behind kills from senior Alexander Carpenter (Delaware, Ohio) and sophomore Joshua Hinton (Richboro, Pa.).

Reis Levy powered the Blazers attack with a tied match-high 14 kills with two aces. Bondarovsky notched eight kills with three digs, while Hernandez added four kills. Sophomore John Dunphy (Farmington, Conn.) dished out 21 assists with two digs and an ace in the loss.

Stevens was paced by 14-kill efforts from Shankweiler and Lehman. Shankweiler added three digs and three aces, while Lehman tallied three digs and a block. DeBoer and senior Jordan Stuart (Huntington Beach, Calif.) knocked six kills apiece, and sophomore Jacob Patterson (Los Gatos, Calif.) logged a game-high 38 assists.

The Blazers will be back on the court in the 2017 home opener against Emmanuel (Mass.) at Picknelly Arena Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Stevens travels to #5 Wentworth Saturday afternoon for a tri-match at 11:00 a.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL