Hoboken, NJ -  The Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team secured its six-consecutive victory with a thrilling, 3-2 (30-25, 21-30, 30-28, 27-30, 15-11), triumph over North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Metro Division rival No. 14 Ramapo College at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks improved to 14-8 overall with a 5-2 mark against league opponents, while the Roadrunners fall to 15-7 on the year with a 7-2 league ledger.

Junior outside hitter Jonathan Landis tallied a match-high 16 kills to pace Stevens, while Timothy Karl and SteFan PremDas each added nine kills. PremDas also tallied seven digs, while Karl chipped in three blocks. Junior co-captain Brandt Grobeis dished out 44 assists while directing the Ducks' offense, adding a season-best seven kills. Junior libero Aaron Ostrovsky matched a season-high with 16 digs.

Five Roadrunners recorded double-digit kills led by freshman outside hitter Kevin Froehlich's (Ringwood, N.J.) 14. Senior middle blocker Elvis Cabrera (Clifton, N.J.) added 13 kills, while sophomore Paul Konopacki (Monroe Twp., N.J.) and freshman Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, N.J.) each registered 11 kills. Sophomore John Castillo (Garfield, N.J.) had 10 kills. Senior setter Matt Scott (Edison, N.J.) tallied a match-high 51 assists, while fellow senior Kurt Backlund (Old Bridge, N.J.) had a match-best 20 digs.

Set 1: Stevens 30, Ramapo 25
Down 9-7 in the early going following a Konopacki kill, the Ducks rattled off a 9-2 run, taking a 16-11 lead on an Andrew Fessler service ace that forced a Ramapo timeout. The Roadrunners would tally the set's first point coming out of the break on another Konopacki spike, but a quick, 4-1 Stevens' spurt made it 20-13.

Trailing by eight after a service error, Ramapo scored four unanswered points to pull within four, but the Ducks tallied two of the set's final three points – capped off by a John Dennan kill – to take a 1-0 lead.

Set 2: Ramapo 30, Stevens 21
The Roadrunners got off to a fast start in set two, taking an 8-3 lead on back-to-back Froehlich service aces. Still down five at 12-7 following a Castillo spike, the Ducks rallied, mounting a quick 3-1 run to pare the deficit to three on a Landis kill.

Ramapo responded with a 5-2 run of its own, stretching the margin to six on a Vahalla tally. Down by six after another Froehlich kill made it 23-17, the Ducks netted two-straight points, pulling within four, but a 6-2 Ramapo run to close out the set knotted the match at one.

Set 3: Stevens 30, Ramapo 28
Ramapo again got off to a quick start in the pivotal third set, taking a 4-0 lead on a Scott kill and three-consecutive Duck errors, but Stevens rallied, cutting it to 6-5 on a Karl kill. The teams continued to trade points over the next few minutes of action, before Ramapo slowly built a four-point edge at 17-13.

The Ducks continued to battle back however, pulling back within one at 22-21 on another Karl kill. Down 26-23, Landis and freshman middle hitter Jake Modestow combined to score the set's next three points, before a Konopacki kill put the Roadrunners back on top.

PremDas later tied the set at 28, before a Ramapo error coupled with a Tom Hannum kill gave Stevens its first lead and a 2-1 set edge.

Set 4: Ramapo 30, Stevens 27
Stevens took an early 4-2 lead in the third set, but Ramapo would quickly battle back, taking a 7-6 advantage after five straight Duck errors. Still trailing by one at 10-9, the Ducks mounted a 5-1 run capped off by a PremDas spike to take a 14-11 edge.

Down three at 19-16, Ramapo tallied three-straight points to tie it at 19, before a Roadrunner error gave Stevens a slim 20-19 advantage. Still behind by one at 21-20, Ramapo reeled off a 5-2 rally, capped off by a Konopacki kill, to take a 25-23 lead, while forcing a Stevens timeout.

Stevens would pull within two at 26-24, but four Castillo kills down the stretch helped the Roadrunners force a fifth set tiebreak.

Set 5: Stevens 15, Ramapo 11
Ramapo raced out to a 3-0 lead thanks in part to a pair of Cabrera spikes, but three-straight Stevens points knotted the set. With the set still tied at five after a Karl kill, the Roadrunners tallied back-to-back-to-back points on a couple of Ducks' errors and a Froehlich spike.

Stevens answered by scoring the set's next five points, taking a 10-8 advantage on a Hannum service ace. Vahalla quickly cut it to one with a kill, but a Landis spike, coupled with a Grobeis kill and Karl service ace made it 13-9. Down three at 14-11 after a Ducks' error, Ramapo committed an attack error of its own to give Stevens the set and match victory.

Ramapo takes a break until Saturday, March 20th when they host Stevenson and Baruch in a tri-match-up at the Bradley Center commencing at noon.