ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - The Stevenson men's volleyball team closed out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Eastern University by 3-0 scores in Middle Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon.
- Set scores were 25-9, 25-19, 25-15.
- Stevenson (12-3, 12-3 MAC) held Eastern (3-13, 3-13 MAC) to -.333 hitting in the opening set and -.058 for the match.
- The Mustangs hit .458 in the final set and .288 for the contest.
- In the first set, Stevenson built a 13-2 lead and cruised from there.
- Aleks Melbardis led the Mustangs with 14 kills on .500 hitting, while Logan Smiley added nine kills.
- Grant Nelson had team-highs in digs (9) and assists (29).
- Mason Scott and Tanner Stauffer contributed eight digs apiece.
- Set scores were 25-12, 25-23, 25-23.
- Stevenson trailed 21-20 in the second set before a Melbardis kill and an Eastern attack error put the Mustangs in front.
- With the set tied 23-23, a Melbardis kill and a block by Elliot De La Torre closed out the set.
- The Mustangs jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third, but the Eagles chipped away and got within one, 24-23.
- A block by Aidan O'Brien closed out the match.
- Melbardis hit .448 for the match and racked up 16 kills, while Smiley had 13 kills on .310 hitting.
- Stauffer hit .583 and added eight kills and eight digs.
- De La Torre registered four blocks.
- Nelson finished with 36 assists as the Mustangs hit .311 for the match.
- Michael Dougherty recorded 12 digs.
- Smiley saw his string of double-digit kill totals snapped at 16 in the first match.
- Stevenson's six service aces in the first match were the most since March 20's seven against Alvernia in the second match of the afternoon.
- Melbardis has recorded double-digit kills in the last six matches.
- Stevenson has earned the No. 2 seed in next week's MAC Championship.
- The Mustangs will host third-seeded Stevens (10-3) in a MAC semifinal Wednesday, April 7 at 7 pm at Owings Mills Gym.
Photo courtesy Dan Mouw, Eastern Athletic Communications
