Jacoby, Martin Lead Mustangs in Season-Opening 3-1 Win at Lehman

BRONX, N.Y. - Stevenson men's volleyball sophomore Austin Jacoby (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) posted 24 kills while sophomore Jon Martin (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) totaled 11 kills and 15 digs as the Mustangs opened the 2012 season with a 23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 26-24 victory at Lehman Saturday at the APEX Center.

The 2011 ECAC Division III South champion who set a school record with 26 wins last season, Stevenson (1-0) was picked to finish sixth in the newly-formed Continental Volleyball Conference.

Jacoby finished two kills shy of his career-high set in last year's season-opening 3-1 victory versus Lasell at the SUNYIT Wildcat Invitational in his first career game. The NECVA Rookie of the Year, Jacoby led the Mustangs with 391 kills and a .277 hitting percentage a year ago.

Meanwhile, Martin, who was second on the team with 310 kills and 232 digs last season, posted his sixth career game with at least 10 kills and 10 digs.

Saturday's match was tightly contested as just points separated the two teams in three of the four sets. After the Lightning won the first set, the Mustangs rallied from a 21-15 deficit in the second by scoring 12 of the final 16 points to tie the game at 1-1.

In the third set, Stevenson used a 4-0 run to expand a 19-18 lead into a six-point victory. The Mustangs would seal its fourth consecutive season-opening win in the fourth set by breaking a 24-24 tie with back-to-back kills from Jacoby and freshman John Crinion (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice).

Crinion finished with 12 kills in his first collegiate match while freshman Patrick Devine (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) had a team-high 19 digs. Sophomore Adam Thatcher (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), the 2011 ECAC Division III South Most Outstanding Player, had 10 digs.

Sophomore Eddy Klepper (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) had nine kills.

Manuel Bonilla had 15 kills and 11 digs to lead Lehman (1-2). Brian Francisco had 10 kills and nine digs while Miguel Gallardo had 17 digs.

Stevenson plays two games on Sunday at Baruch against the host Bearcats at 10 a.m., before taking on Medaille at noon.