Box Score

HOBOKEN, N.J. – Despite battling top-seeded and No. 1 Stevens to four sets on Sunday, the No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team succumbed to the Ducks and fell 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 24-26) in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Championship match in Canavan Arena.
 
With the defeat, the Hawks move to 26-5 and will await their status for continued postseason play in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament from April 24-26, which will be hosted by Stevens. The selection show will air on ncaa.com at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 13.
 
The Ducks, meanwhile, improve to 27-4 and receive the UVC's automatic bid into the tournament as Stevens won its first-ever UVC title.
 
For the match, the Hawks hit .281 (60-22-135), as four players notched at least 20 swings apiece. Junior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and senior setter John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) both played great on Sunday as Smith floored 12 kills, hitting .545 (12-0-22) and delivered a match-high 31 assists. Smith also accounted for seven digs and one block assist.
 
Lutjen, meanwhile, again nearly missed a triple-double as the senior tallied 12 kills, 26 assists and eight digs. Freshman outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) and junior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) joined in double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Bonilla recorded nine digs while Fishman chipped in with five digs on the defensive end.
 
Junior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) notched eight kills and sophomore middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) contributed seven kills, four digs and two block assists. Junior libero Kevin Nardone (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) orchestrated the defense with nine digs.
 
For Stevens, senior outside hitter Ryan Seifert enjoyed a 21-kill match, hitting .442 (21-2-42). Afterwards, Seifert was named the UVC Tournament MVP. Junior outside hitter Tim Ferriter contributed 11 kills, hitting .500 (11-2-18) while senior setter Kevin Aeckerle dished out 28 assists.
 
The Hawks fell behind 10-6 in the opening set and still trailed 18-13 when New Paltz decided to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Blue & Orange ripped off a 6-2 run with a pair of kills by Lutjen to climb within one point (20-19). The Hawks got within one point on two more occasions but the Ducks were able to close out the first set on a New Paltz attacking miscue.
 
In set number two, the contest went back-and-forth with neither team grabbing more than a one-point lead. With the set tied at 17, New Paltz began to swing momentum in its favor and earned a 21-19 lead after a Woessner kill. Following a ball handling error by Stevens, Smith floored consecutive kills to hand the second set to Hawks and tied the match at 1-1.
 
Again, neither team gave much breathing room in the third set until the Hawks used a nice 4-0 run on senior outside hitter Gus Gregory (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas) serves to take a 15-12 lead. New Paltz remained ahead 17-15 following a kill by Husmann but the Ducks responded with a 5-2 run to close out the set, using a pair of Seifert kills and two errors by New Paltz.
 
The Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the fourth set but New Paltz battled back using three kills by Bonilla to knot the contest at 5-5. Both teams traded points until Stevens grabbed a 17-15 lead, which forced the Hawks to call timeout. Looking to remain alive despite trailing 23-20, New Paltz enjoyed kills by Fishman and Husmann to get right back into the set, behind 24-23.
 
Lutjen knotted the set at 24 all but a kill by Stevens and an unfortunate attacking error call on New Paltz ended the match and handed the Ducks their first-ever UVC title.