Box Score

HOBOKEN, NJ (Feburary 7, 2009) -- In a marquee matchup of two teams ranked in the top five in the AVCA/Biston Coaches Poll, No. 4 ranked Stevens ran off three straight set wins to defeat No. 5 Vassasr (30-23, 25-30, 19-30, 29-31) in men's volleyball action Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Brewers to 4-3, 3-1 in NECVA Metro Division play, while Stevens improves to 9-1, 2-0.

The Brewers will return to action next weekend in Rochester at the Nazareth Tournament. Vassar faces Carthage and Medaille in Friday's opening matches.

For Vassar, senior outside hitter Steve Micucci (Millis, MA) produced a .378 hitting percentage with 18 kills on 37 attempts and four errors. Sophomore Evan Fredericksen (Menlo Park, CA/Menlo-Atherton) finished with 13 kills and lofted seven digs, while junior Phil Tully (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) blasted 16 kills and lifted nine digs. Senior setter John Kessenich (Chicago, IL) dished out 55 assists in the loss.

Senior middle hitter Andrew Cranford (Bel Air, Md.) landed 16 kills and totaled four blocks for Stevens.

The Brewers took the first set 30-23 and led the entire way, getting even play across the board from Micucci, Tully and Fredericksen. It set the stage for a tight a tight second set.

The second set was tied at 15-15 with Micucci and Tully keeping the Brewers in contention with key kills down the stretch. However, a kill from Stevens senior outside hitter John Dennan (Saing Louis, Mo.) and an attacking error by Vassar allowed the Ducks to even the match at 1-1.

The third set began in similar fashion as both teams fought back and forth early, until Stevens took a six-point advantage at 18-12. After both squads shared service errors, a pair of kills from Vassar's senior Brian Bacchi (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) followed by a ball handling error by Stevens cut the Vassar deficit to three points, 16-19.

The final set, a 31-29 Stevens win, was once again neck and neck till Stevens grabbed a slight 9-8 lead. A passing miscue by the Brewers put Stevens up by two. Vassar retaliated as Fredericksen posted a kill. It was back and forth until Stevens edged ahead 19-16. A kill by Tully cut the Stevens lead down to two. Service errors and attacking errors were swapped by both teams until the set was tied at 29-29. Consecutive attacking errors by Vassar closed out the set and match for Stevens.