OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Stevenson men's volleyball team (8-13, 3-2 MAC) split a tri-match against No. 1 Stevens (25-2, 6-0 MAC) and King's (Pa.) (17-5, 1-3 MAC) during Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Owings Mills gym. The Mustangs fell to top-ranked Stevens 3-1 before sweeping King's (Pa.) in straight sets.
 
Vs No. 1 Stevens (16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25)

The Ducks used a five-point run to sprint to a 3-9 advantage before the Mustangs cut the deficit to 6-9 with a kill from Tim Flanagan, a block from Jack Hrvatin and Justin Novoa and an ace from Ryan Thenell. Stevenson was only able to earn side-outs to the 11-21 point as Stevens went on a 12-5 run. Stevenson took a three-point run with back-to-back kills from Thenell but Stevens closed out the set on a 3-1 run to win the frame 16-25.
 
The second set was tightly contested with 13 tie scores and five lead changes. The sides went point-for-point to an 8-8 tie before the Mustangs used a 6-3 run to leverage a 13-11 lead with two kills from Thenell and a kill each from Jack Braverman and Elliot De La Torre. Stevenson extended its lead to 18-15 with a 5-2 run which saw a block from Tim Flanagan and De La Torre as well as kills from De La Torre and Aidan O'Brien. The Ducks overtook the lead with a 6-1 run before a kill from Flanagan followed by an ace from De La Torre tied the set at 21 apiece. However, the Ducks took the final four points of the set to win the frame 21-25.
 
The Mustangs responded in the third frame hauling out to a 12-5 lead before a four point run from the Ducks erased the lead at 12 apiece. The Mustangs used a 5-2 run to open a 21-19 lead with aces from Justin Novoa and Tim Flanagan as well as a block from Thenell. The Mustangs closed out the set on a 4-2 tear with a block and a kill from Aidan O'Brien and one more kill from Tim Flanagan to win the set 25-22.
 
The Ducks sprinted to a 6-12 lead in the fourth set before Stevenson narrowed the gap to 11-13 on the heels of a 5-1 run with two kills and an ace from Elliot De La Torre and kill from Tim Flanagan. The Mustangs overtook the lead with a 6-1 run to leverage a 17-15 lead. The Ducks embarked on a 7-2 run to a 19-22 lead. The sides traded the last six points to round out the set for a 22-25 Stevens victory.

Vs King's (Pa.) (25-21, 25-17, 16-25)
 
The Monarchs leveraged a 7-11 lead early in the first set before Stevenson narrowed the gap to 10-11. King's moved its lead to 11-15 before the Mustangs marched to 6-1 run to take a 17-16 capped by back-to-back kills from Tim Flanagan and Jack Braverman. Stevenson stretched its lead to 22-19 on back to back kills from Flanagan. Jack Braverman and Ryan Thenell added kills each to polish off the set and give the Mustangs a 25-21 opening set victory.
 
In the second set, Stevenson opened a 13-9 lead with a five-point run which included four kills from three different players and a block from Aidan O'Brien. An 8-2 run gave Stevenson a 21-13 lead. Stevenson closed the middle stanza with back-to-back kills from Tim Flanagan and Jack Braverman.
 
Stevenson led the third set wire-to-wire, opening a 16-9 lead on the heels of a five-point run which included back-to-back aces from Tim Flanagan and a block from the duo of Elliot De La Torre and Jack Braverman. The Mustangs closed the set on a 6-3 run with the final two points coming on back-to-back kills from De La Torre and Braverman for a 25-16 victory.
 
What's Next
The Mustangs return to action on Wednesday, March 18 with a MAC contest against Wilkes beginning at 7pm at the Owings Mills gym.