UNION, N.J. - The Stevenson men's volleyball team lost both of its matches on the second day of the Clash at Kean, losing to defending national champion and No. 3-ranked Springfield 25-18, 25-15, 25-23 before falling in five sets to Lasell 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13 Saturday at Kean's Harwood Arena.
The Mustangs (4-5) were overmatched offensively against Springfield as the Pride totaled 45 kills and a .352 hitting percentage.
Springfield held an early 10-8 lead in the first set before a 9-4 run pushed it to 19-12. Stevenson closed the gap to four, but four-straight points carried the Pride to victory.
In the second set, Springfield totaled 14 kills without an error in 23 attempts for a .609 hitting percentage. After a kill by senior Wes Richardson cut the Pride's lead to 16-12, Springfield posted the next five points en route to the 10-point victory.
The third set was close, featuring eight ties before the Mustangs took a 21-17 lead. However, Ricardo Padilla totaled eight of his 14 kills in the set, the last of which tied the set at 23-23 before a Springfield block and Stevenson attack error gave the Pride the win and the sweep.
Senior Kyle Wisner led the Mustangs with six kills while sophomore Nate Ellis had five kills and four block assists. Junior Patrick Schuyler added five kills and a team-high nine digs.
Stevenson rallied from a 2-1 deficit against Lasell, forcing a fifth and deciding set before falling by just two points.
The opening set was back-and-forth until a 7-1 run by the Lasers gave them a 17-10 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Mustangs jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set before they pushed their lead to as many as eight at 21-13 thanks to kills from five different players, including sophomore Michael Fehrs and Kyle Pottieger. A trio of kills from David Moler secured the win and a 1-1 tie.
Led by four kills from Jeffrey Vautrin, the Lasers scored 11 of the first 19 points in the third set before Stevenson tied it at 11-11. The Mustangs took a 20-17 advantage, but could not take control despite leading 23-20.
The fourth set featured 13 ties, the last of which came at 17-17 before an 8-3 run by the Mustangs sealed the win and forced the deciding fifth set.
Stevenson led the fifth set 13-12, but back-to-back kills by the Lasers and a Mustang attack error gave the set and the match to Lasell in five. Stevenson is now 0-3 in five-set matches this season.
Ellis and Wisner each had 13 kills in the losing effort while Schuyler added 11 to go along with 14 digs. Pottieger finished with eight kills and 11 digs and senior Scott Morantz had a season-high 20 digs, two shy of his career-high.
Stevenson begins a four-game home stand on Wednesday when it opens Continental Volleyball Conference play versus Eastern Mennonite at Owings Mills Gymnasium beginning at 7:00 p.m.
