NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 7 Stevens Tops Endicott, 3-1

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team fell to No. 7 nationally ranked Stevens, 3-1, by scores of 25-20, 25-19, 18-25, and 25-23 on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at MacDonald Gymnasium. 

Senior middle Daniel Toth (Glenwood, N.J.) led Endicott with 16 kills, a match-high .517 hitting percentage (min. 20 attempts), one dig, and seven block assists. Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) contributed a double-double on 10 kills and 14 digs to go along with six blocks (one solo), while Seth Braquet (Destrehan, La.) also highlighted the Gulls with six kills, 11 digs, a .957 serve-receive percentage (22-for-23), and one block assist. 

Donovan Dey (Fairport, N.Y.) chipped in with six kills, two digs, and six blocks (two solo). Tim Fieseler (Bridgewater, N.J.) also had six kills, while Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) and Adam Dake (Victor, N.Y.) notched 20 assists each with split duties running the offense. 

Today's match featured 20 tie scores and five lead changes, including 10 tie scores and four lead changes alone in set two. In set three, the Gulls rallied from a 15-13 deficit with a 6-0 run – fueled by two kills from Toth – to claim an eventual 25-18 victory. Endicott nearly took set four behind the momentum of its raucous home crowd, but Stevens held off a late rally by the Gulls with the score in their favor at 23-22 with two kills from DeBoer down the stretch. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's match was the second meeting this season between the two programs. In their first meeting earlier this year, Stevens defeated Endicott, 3-2, on Saturday, February 4.
• Stevens is 12-0 against Endicott in the all-time series.
• Toth wraps up his career as the program's all-time leader in hitting percentage (.366, minimum 500 attempts).
• Toth also ranks third all-time in career blocks (296).
• The Gulls made their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in today's match. 

FOR THE FOES

• Senior opposite Ian Bennett (Menlo Park, Calif.) registered a double-double with a match-high 20 kills (.325) and 10 digs to pace the Ducks.
• Gabe Shankweiler (Allentown, Pa.) factored into the win with 14 kills and 10 digs.
• Jordan Stuart (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Dylan DeBoer (Vernon Hills, Ill.) put home nine kills apiece to round out the rest of the offense.
• Jacob Patterson (Los Gatos, Calif.) dished out a match-high 47 assists.
• Sophomore libero Niko Lambert (Bridgewater, N.J.) finished with 11 digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT

No.7 Stevens will play No. 6 Dominican (Ill.) in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, April 28 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Endicott's 2017 season comes to a close at 21-11 overall. It marks the sixth 20-win season in program history. 

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(Photo credit - Allison Moore)