Seifert Stellar In Stevens Men's Volleyball Sweep Of Newbury
HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 23, 2011) – Freshman Ryan Seifert hit .429 while hammering home a match-high 15 kills as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball team surged past visiting Newbury College, 3-0 (31-29, 25-15, 25-17), in the final match of the 2011 Stevens Invitational held at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. with the victory, the Ducks moved to 3-0 on the year, while the Nighthawks fell to 2-4 on the season.
Down 1-0 in the first set, sophomore Jake Modestow notched a solo block before senior SteFan PremDas tallied a block and kill of his own to stake the Ducks to an early 3-1 edge. Trailing 8-5, Newbury notched three of the sets’ next four points before another PremDas kill down the left line put Stevens up 10-8.
The Nighthawks responded by reeling off three consecutive points to take their first lead of the set. Senior Timothy Karl later notched his first kill of the day to tie things at 12 before a PremDas service ace helped the Ducks regain the lead. Looking to rebound, Newbury rattled off four unanswered points, taking a 16-13 advantage, while forcing a Stevens timeout.
Hoping to rally, the Ducks answered with a 6-3 run of their own, knotting the set at 19 on a Jonathan Landis kill, forcing a Nighthawks’ stoppage. Trailing 21-20, Seifert found a crease in the Newbury defense, once again knotting the match, but a Max Daley (Cranston, R.I.) spike moments later, put the Nighthawks back on top.
Still tied at 22, freshman David Evans made a diving play to keep things alive for Seifert, who notched the go-ahead kill. Newbury would battle back however, taking a 25-24 lead before Landis tied the set with a cross-court kill. The Ducks would later take a 30-29 advantage on another Seifert spike before a Nighthawks’ error gave Stevens a 31-29 first set victory.
The Ducks tallied the first three points of the second frame on pair of Newbury errors and a PremDas kill. Up 7-4, Karl ripped a spike down the middle of the court to keep Stevens’ momentum going, while staking the Ducks to an 8-4 edge.
Ahead 13-6 after a Newbury timeout, the Ducks took a seven-point edge on a Nighthawks error before senior James Beck (Havre De Grace, Md.) momentarily quelled the Stevens streak, tipping it over the Ducks’ line.
Up 18-11 after a Seifert kill, the Ducks’ took advantage of another Newbury miscue to go up eight. Still ahead by eight after a Landis spike made it 22-14, Stevens tallied three of the set’s final four points to take a 2-0 match lead.
Down 3-2 in the early going of the third and final set, Modestow hammered home a kill to knot the set. The Ducks would outscore their Nighhawk counterparts, 13-9 over the next several minutes of action, taking a 16-12 edge. Still up four at 17-13, Landis hammered home another kill to give Stevens a five-point cushion.
Up 23-17, Seifert notched another kill before a Nighthawks’ error put the wraps on a 3-0 Stevens match victory.
Landis added 11 kills and four digs in the Ducks’ victory, while PremDas hit .385 with 13 kills, six digs, and three blocks. Modestow and Karl combined for 10 kills and five blocks, while senior co-captain Brandt Grobeis out 42 assists.
Beck led the Nighhawks with 14 kills, while junior outside hitter Danny Kim (Plainview, N.Y.) had 10 kills and four digs. Daley finished with seven kills in the loss, while senior setter Matt Talamantes (Los Angeles, Calif.) collected 31 helpers.
Mount Olive defeated Hunter 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-13) in the day’s other match. Freshmen Angel Dache (La Habana, Cuba) and Adam Miracle (Cincinnati, Ohio) each had 11 kills for the Trojans, while Jackson Mettechecchi dished out 40 assists.
Junior Eric Barty (Jamaica, N.Y.) and freshman Jonathan Park (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) led Hunter with five kills apiece, while senior Marcin Polak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 15 assists.