UNION, N.J. (1/15/16) – The No. 11 Kean University men's volleyball team topped No. 14 Stevenson University 3-1 in the final match of the Kean Winter Classic on Friday night. Earlier in the day, the Cougars fell to D'Youville College. Kean is now 2-1 on the year.
Click here to see highlights of tonight's victory!
After dropping the first set against Stevenson, the Cougars were trailing 21-18 in the second. It was there that the day finally seemed to turn around. Tommy Rosario put one down and Jacob Kauffman had three kills in a row as Kean scored five-straight points to win the set and tie the match at one set each.
Kean took five of the first six in the third and stayed comfortably in front to win it 25-19. Kauffman, after racking up eight kills in the second set, again led the team with four in the third. Interestingly, Stevenson outhit the Cougars in the third set, but Kean had 5.5 blocks to even things out. The Mustangs also had eight service errors in the third.
With the fourth set tied at 23, Kevin Barrow and Rosario teamed for a block to get to match point, and Kauffman pounded the next ball to the floor to end things and give Kean the 3-1 victory.
Kauffman finished with a match-best 19 kills for the Cougars and hit .417 while doing it. Bill Fischer had seven kills and 11 points for the team's second-highest totals in those categories.
Barrow (pictured left) dished out 32 assists. Jared Warner and Nick Breslin had eight digs each to lead the team in that column. Shayron Taylor had six blocks, including two solo stymies, to lead all players.
Both teams had 17 service errors, but the Cougars made up for it with eight aces while the Mustangs managed just two in the match. Kean was outhit .205-.148, but the Cougars' aces, blocks and lack of errors helped them earn the victory.
Landon Shorts had 18 kills to lead the Mustangs, who fell to1-2 on the year.
The Cougars opened the day against D'Youville, and Kean was trailing 23-20 late in the first set. Rosario had two kills during a 4-0 run that got the Cougars to match point, but Kean was unable to complete the comeback. D'Youville rattled off three-straight points to take the opener 26-24.
The first-ever college serve for Kean's Chadd Jones was an ace, but the Cougars found themselves trailing 18-13 in the second and called timeout to talk it over. The Spartans maintained that five-point cushion and won the second 25-20.
Kean leapt out to a 15-11 lead in the third. But a remarkable effort by the Spartans and a controversial touch call that would have otherwise given the set to Kean helped D'Youville win an epic set 28-26 and earn the three-set upset.
Brock Tetreault had 15 kills to lead the Spartans. Fischer had eight kills, four digs and an ace to pace the Cougars.
Next week, Kean will head to the Wildcat Invitational at SUNY Institute of Technology on January 22 & 23. The first match will be against Wells College on Friday at 4 p.m.
