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PremDas' Stellar Night Not Enough As Stevens Falls To Division II Grand Canyon
Files associated with this release:
Box Score vs. Grand Canyon - February 28,
2011
HOBOKEN, N.J.
(February 28, 2011) – Despite a match-high 16 kills
and team-best .429 hitting percentage from senior SteFan PremDas,
the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s volleyball team
dropped its match-up with Division II Grand Canyon University, 3-0
(25-23, 25-22, 25-22), at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks,
now 12-5 overall on the season with the loss, will look to break
back into the win column on Wednesday, March 2 at Philadelphia
Biblical University.
Knotted at 3-3 early, Grand Canyon reeled off three unanswered,
before a James Mataras kill coupled with an Antelopes’ error
cut the visitors’ margin to one.
Still down one at 8-7 following a PremDas spike, freshman David
Evans notched his third kill of the evening to pull the
Ducks’ even.
Following a 5-2 Grand Canyon rally that made it 13-10, Evans again
found a hole in the Antelopes defense, hammering home another spike
to bring Stevens within two. Still up by a pair at 14-12, Grand
Canyon strung together consecutive scores to go up four, forcing a
Ducks’ timeout.
Continuing to go on the offensive coming out of the break, the
Antelopes would build a 20-14 lead before Stevens senior Jonathan
Landis notched a kill to stem the Grand Canyon tide. The Ducks
would battle back within three at 21-18 before a Landis service ace
brought the home team back to within two.
Down 24-22, Evans tallied a cross-court kill to make it a
one-point set, but the Antelopes would notch a frame-clinching kill
on the ensuing possession to take the first set, 25-23.
Tied at seven in the second, PremDas tipped the ball over the
Grand Canyon frontline, giving Stevens an 8-7 edge. The Antelopes
answered by netting two-straight to regain the advantage before a
Stevens kill dead-locked the set at nine.
Trailing by a point at 12-11, Evans recorded his sixth kill of the
night, kick-starting a 3-0 Ducks’ spurt that staked Stevens
to a 14-12 margin. Still up two at 15-13, Stevens surrendered
consecutive points on a blocking error and an ace as the Antelopes
pulled even.
With the set at 21-21 Antelopes’ freshman Ben Ponnet
(Merchtem, Belgium) served up an ace as Grand Canyon put
up three consecutive scores to get to set-point. After a Landis
spike, Antelopes’ junior middle blocker Nick Jensen
(Herning, Denmark) secured the 25-22 win and a 2-0 match
lead.
Knotted at five to start the third set, Grand Canyon scored the
frame’s next two points, taking a 7-5 lead on a
Jordon Tarantino (Valley Center, Calif.) kill.
Hoping to keep pace, the Ducks rattled off three-straight points,
taking a slim one-point edge on consecutive Landis spikes.
Behind by one at 11-10, Tarantino unleashed two-straight aces to
help the Antelopes regain the advantage, but PremDas immediately
responded with a kill to tie the game at 12. Looking to pull ahead,
Grand Canyon notched the set’s next two points, going up
15-13, while forcing a Stevens’ stoppage.
Trying to stay alive, the Ducks put up a pair of scores coming out
of the break to tie things up at 15, but a Stevens’ attack
error helped the Antelopes regain the upper hand. Battling back to
tie the set at 20, PremDas sent the ball off the hands of a pair of
would-be Canyon blockers to put the Ducks back on top.
Hoping to complete the sweep, Grand Canyon rallied, tallying the
next four of the set’s next five points to pull ahead, 24-22,
before a Stevens error closed out the frame, giving the Antelopes a
3-0 win.
Evans and Landis each tallied nine kills in the loss, combining
for eight digs and two blocks. Mataras hit .625 on eight swings,
adding five kills. Senior setter Brandt Grobeis finished with 34
kills, while fellow senior Aaron Ostrovsky collected a team-high
nine digs.
Ponnet and Tarantino paced the Antelopes with 10 kills, apiece,
while freshman outside hitter Ben Hunt (Huntington Beach,
Calif.) and Jensen combined for 13 kills. Sophomore setter
Brad Moore (Orange, Calif.) dished out 33 assists
in the win, while second-year libero Trent Bruns (Mission
Viejo, Calif.) chipped in with a match-high 11
digs.
