No. 3 Stevens falls to No. 1 Springfield in NCAA Final
Charles O'Brien
KENOSHA, Wis. (April 28, 2018) – Graduate student
Gabe Shankweiler and senior Thomas Burrell each collected five kills but No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball fell to No. 1 Springfield College in straight sets (20-25, 14-25, 9-25) Saturday in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship match Saturday evening at Carthage College's Tarble Arena.
Juniors Dylan DeBoer and Cooper Diamond each recorded four blocks for the Ducks, who saw their 10-match winning streak come to an end. Stevens, champions of the United Volleyball Conference, concludes its 2018 campaign with a 27-5 record, for the 12th season of at least 25 victories under Head Coach
Patrick Dorywalski.
American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Player of the Year Sergio Figueroa Velez recorded a match-high 13 assists and setter Mike Neary dished out 38 assists for Springfield, who improved to 31-2. The Pride earned their second straight NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship and the fifth in program history. Springfield has ended Stevens' season in each of the last two seasons.
"We just did not have it in tonight's match and Springfield was the better team tonight," said assistant coach
Amable Martinez. "It was a great run this year with amazing experiences and we look forward to getting back to work next season."
Less than 24 hours removed a thrilling five-set victory over No. 7 Dominican University in the semifinals, Stevens was unable to get on track offensively, hitting a season-low 0.022 (20-18-91) for the match. The Ducks did not register an ace for the first time this season. Conversely, Springfield connected for a 0.351 (44-11-94) hitting percentage and held the edge in aces, blocks and digs. The Pride finished the season undefeated against Division III competition.
The opening set proved to be the closest set between the teams. A Velez service error handed Stevens the first point of the national championship and Burrell set down a Jacob Patterson set to give Stevens an early 2-1 lead. Diamond and Shankweiler connected for back-to-back kills as part of a three-point run. Springfield reeled off four points after a pair of Velez kills to briefly grab a lead. Diamond put down a Patterson feed to tie the set at eight, but the stalemate would be short lived, as the Pride punctuated a three-point run with a double block to force a Stevens timeout. The top-seeded Pride opened as much as a seven-point lead before consecutive errors gave Stevens new life down 22-17, and a Diamond block trimmed the lead to four, but Velez set down a Neary set to give Springfield the opening set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set saw Springfield reel off the first three points of the set, putting pressure on Stevens from the opening serve. Consecutive three-point runs saw the Pride reclaim a lead, but kills by Diamond and DeBoer and a Joseth Irizarry attack error tied the teams at nine. Springfield made just 23 errors on the evening. The teams traded the next four points before the Pride tallied four of the next five points to take a 15-12 lead. A 10-1 run by Springfield closed out the set.
With its season on the line, Shankweiler dropped down a Patterson set to open scoring in the third set. The lead would not last long as Springfield took five of the next six points to seize command of the final frame. Seven straight points opened an 18-6 lead for Springfield and the Pride allowed just two more points to the Ducks to close out the match. Graduate student Ian Bennett pinned down a Patterson feed for his lone point of the championship to stave off one match point, but a service error ended the match. The Springfield victory evened the teams' record against one another in the NCAA finals at one after Stevens won its first-ever national championship in 2015.
Although the match's outcome did not produce the result the team desired, the Stevens Men's Volleyball Class of 2018 concludes one of the top stretches in both program, and department, history, collecting four straight trips to the NCAA Final Four and the first NCAA team championship in department history. The trio of Bennett, Burrell and Shankweiler have amassed a four-year record of 118-22 with a pair of UVC championships, numerous NCAA wins and multiple AVCA All-American selections.