OWINGS MILLS, Md. (March 18, 2023) – Sophomore Kobe Sherman had 19 kills and six digs in the first match while and junior Carver Wayrick registered 17 kills and 13 digs in Game 2 as No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball defeated Stevenson University (25-16, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22) and King’s College in four sets (22 – 25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-18) Saturday afternoon in a Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) tripleheader played at Owings Mills Gymnasium.
Sherman posted 21.5 points in the opener against Stevenson (7-13, 0-2). Senior Percy Bickford and first year Tyler Hawk added nine kills to help the Ducks win their first of two matches on the day. The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Mustangs. Stevens is now 10-1 all-time against its conference opponents.
Later in the day, Weirick led the way for the top-ranked Ducks against King’s (17-4, 1-2). The loss extended the Monarchs’ losing streak to four after starting the season 17-0. Elderly Alex Franke and Nathan Lancha each added 12 kills for the Ducks (25-2; 6-0), who extended their conference winning streak to 21 with the two victories. Stevens also extended their current winning streak to 14 as they improved to 4-0 all-time against King’s.
Stevens took a 2-1 lead in the first game against Stevenson. Senior Lowden Moran hit an ace and recorded a kill. The two teams would split the next four points, but the Ducks would follow that up with five straight points to give them a 9-3 lead. The Mustangs followed with three points of their own. Later in the set with the Ducks up 16-8, the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week Philip Bone and sophomore Kobe Sherman each recorded a kill to give the Ducks a ten point lead. Stevens would close out the set with a kill from Christopher Warseveld to give the first set to the ducks.
Stephenson again scored the first point in set number two, but the Ducks scored the next two points again on kills by Sherman and Hoke. The two teams traded points for most of the second frame, with the score 16-13 in favor of the Mustangs after 29 points. Stevens would score 12 of the final 16 points to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Sherman had three and Bone had two to help the Ducks close out the set.
Facing a sweep, the Mustangs opened with an 11-6 run to open the third set. Trailing 12-8, Sherman and Bone combined for three straight kills as part of a four-point run to tie the set at 12. The two teams traded the next 14 points until things were tied at 19. The Mustangs would go on to win six of the last nine won the third set 25-22.
Down 1-0 in the final set, Bickford recorded a kill and Moran had an ace on serve to take an early 2-1 lead. Later tied at four, the Ducks reeled off five straight points. Varseveld had one kill to start the streak, while Sherman recorded two aces. Stevenson would come back in the set as they took a 17-15 lead. Stevens scored five of the next six points, with Warseveld, Bone and Bickford recording kills. The two teams would go back and forth the rest of the way, with Hoke recording the final kill to give the Ducks the win.
The Ducks tied their second game of the day, dropping seven of the first ten points to King’s. Later down 17-11, Stevens scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit to two. Weirick started the streak with a kill, while Lancia added two to energize the Ducks. Now trailing 23-19, Weirick recorded three kills as she tried to keep Stevens alive, but they ended up dropping the first set for the eighth time this season, 25-22.
The Ducks didn’t mess around in the second set, winning 25-12 to tie things up. Leading 9-7, the Ducks went on a 12-1 run to extend their lead to 16-8. Lancia had two kills while finishing Colin Nix had an ace on the run. Trailing 17-10, the Ducks closed the frame on an 8-2 run thanks to five errors by the Monarchs.
King stayed strong in the third set as the teams split the first 14 points of the third set. Stevens killed any momentum the Monarchs had, winning the second set 25-19 with 11 of the Duck’s 25 points coming on King errors. Franke and Weirick led the charge with three kills each.
Stevens again fell 10-6 to start set number four as the Monarchs looked to force a fifth set. The Ducks had other plans as they scored the next seven points, fueled by Weirick and Lancia, to take a 13-10 lead. Trailing 19-17 later, Stevens scored six of the last seven points to earn his second win of the day. Sophomore Sebastian Huecke had two aces while Weirick added three more kills to help the Ducks shut down the Monarchs.
Inside the numbers
- Stevens outplayed their opponents in both games. They finished with a .279 slugging percentage compared to Stevenson’s .214 in game one, while recording a .270 hitting percentage in game two compared to King’s .137.
- Five Ducks recorded double-digit digs on the day. Junior Fu Qui Ho recorded a career-best 16 against Stevenson as a sophomore Jesse Knuckles had a career-high 15 against King’s.
- Moran had 43 assists and eight goals in the win over Stevenson. Nikc 49 assists and 11 balls in the game against King’s.
- Stevens committed 38 errors in the two games, while their opponents combined for 48.
- The Ducks totaled 12 service aces on the day, recording six in each contest. Five ducks had two.
- Three Ducks: Lancia, Weirick and Nikc recorded double-doubles against King’s.
Next up
- No. 1 men’s volleyball returns home on Thursday, March 23 when they take on MIT in non-conference action. The Ducks are 13-2 all-time against MIT, including nine straight.
- Live stats and video links for both games are available on StevensDucks.com.
Facebook: “Like” Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#Everyone gets up