Stevens Men's Volleyball Competes In 2011 Novotel Cup
LUXEMBOURG (November 18, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball team recently competed in the 2011 Novotel Cup hosted by the Volleyball Federation of Luxembourg at the Centre National Sportif et Culturel (d’Coque) in Luxembourg City. The Ducks opened up tournament play with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) loss to the host nation, before suffering a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-16) defeat to Belarus. Stevens wrapped up tournament play with a hard-fought, 3-2 (19-25. 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11), loss to Scotland.
“The team was a little jet lagged but still managed to play very well against Luxembourg. The middles were effective when we could run them, but the service was difficult to handle on the first day of competition. In our second match against Belarus - the clear favorite in the tournament - we played much better, but the sheer height difference was a factor as you can see in the blocking statistics,” said head coach Patrick Dorywalski. “Our match against Scotland was a great match as we held our own and we were the only match that went five (sets).”
Belarus took home the tournament’s top honors, dropping just one set, while posting a 3-0 mark during competition. Luxembourg placed second with a 2-1 mark, with Scotland taking third, going 1-2 in three matches.
Luxembourg 3, Stevens 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19)
Senior SteFan PremDas led the way for the Ducks with nine kills and nine digs, while sophomore Jake Modestow and freshman Ryan Seifert each added four kills. Seniors Jonathan Landis and Timothy Karl combined for six kills and four blocks, while fellow senior Brandt Grobeis dished out 19 assists and added five dsigs in the loss.
Tim Laevaert led Luxembourg with eight kills and four blocks, while Djamel Belhaouci had seven kills and four digs. Frantisek Vosahlo added five kills and four blocks, while Dominik Husi added 15 digs. Raoul Jungers finished with a match-best 22 assists.
Belarus 3, Stevens 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-16)
Modestow led the way for the Ducks against tournament champion Belarus, notching seven kills. Karl added five kills, while senior co-captain Bryant DeFranco and Seifert had three kills and three digs apiece. Grobeis tallied a match-high 19 assists and four digs in the loss.
Vadzim Pranko led Belarus with nine kills and five blocks, while Viachas Charapovich had seven kills and five digs. Aliaksandr Kortas added five kills and five digs, while Siarei Miashkou chipped in with five kills and four blocks. Artur Drapchynski led Belarus with 18 assists.
Belarus hit .406 for the match, while out-blocking the Ducks 21-2.
Scotland 3, Stevens 2 (19-25. 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11)
Three Ducks notched double-digit kills in Stevens’ final match of the Novotel Cup, led by Landis’ 14 spikes. The senior outside hitter also added eight kills, while PremDas added 13 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. Modestow tallied 13 kills and five blocks, while Seifert added eight kills, 13 digs, and four blocks. Karl chipped in with six kills and five blocks, while Grobeis finished with 46 assists and six digs.
Stuart Edgar, Niall Collin, and Jonny Herley led Scotland with eight kills each, with Herley and Collin also adding four digs. Callumiodar Green finished with seven kills, four digs, and three blocks, while Barry McGuigan notched a match-best 18 digs. Alan Krawczyk and Colin Giles added 20 and 16 assists, respectively.