MUSTANGS IN PLAYOFFS

Men's Volleyball locks up playoff spot with victory over Eastern

ST. DAVID'S, Pa. – The Stevenson University men's volleyball team punched its ticket to the 2024 Middle Atlantic Conference Championship tournament with a 3-0 win over Eastern on Wednesday night.

Set scores were 25-17, 25-19 and 25-22.

Tim Flanagan led the way with 15 kills, while Ryan Thenell and Aidan O'Brien added in six. O'Brien led the way with a .750 attack percentage (3-6-8), while Flanagan went .379 (15-4-29).

Justin Novoa had 30 assists for Stevenson (15-10, 5-3 Middle Atlantic Conference), who will host a game on Tuesday night against Arcadia at 7 p.m.

Micah Ernest had a match-high four aces with Elliot De La Torre having three. Flanagan and O'Brien had two blocks each, with Anthony Pezzino getting six digs.

In the first set, Eastern (10-17, 2-6 Middle Atlantic Conference) took an early 4-1 lead and led by four at 8-4, before Stevenson went on a 7-0 scoring run. Ernest had three service aces during the run, while Thenell and Novoa had kills.

Leading 12-10, Stevenson pulled away and went up by as much as seven twice before winning the first set 25-17.

In the second set, aside from a 2-2 tie, Stevenson led most of the way and had as big of a five point lead before winning 25-19.

In the third and decisive set, Stevenson again trailed early before taking the lead for good at 7-6 on a kill from Novoa. Leading 24-18, Stevenson saw Eastern stage a late rally before an attack error ended the match.

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