Stevenson’s men’s volleyball team continued its winning streak on Feb. 18 against Rutgers-Newark with a final score of 3-0 in a dominating victory before being defeated by No. 15 Marymount (VA) in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss. The Mustangs have a record of 11-7 this season and believe they are headed to the championships this year.
The Mustangs took the Saints to five sets with scores of 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25 and 22-20. Service errors hindered Stevenson as the Mustangs has 21 while Marymount had 13. Leading the way for the Mustangs was senior Nate Ellis with 15 kills while hitting .458 on the night.
The team averages 11.48 kills per set, 10.61 assists per set, 1.77 blocks per set, 1.50 service aces per set, and 9.90 digs per set, along with a hitting percentage of .216. New players on the team this year include freshmen Nathan Bosse, Kyle Bosko and Derek Tangorra, who have created a new, yet strong dynamic. Last year the team grabbed the conference championship and they hope to repeat that this season.
Freshman Tangorra is an English major and a new libero for the team. He hopes that the Mustangs will continue to be able to establish “clarity and comfortability with other young starters.”
“A really good strength is our team chemistry. We spend a lot of time together off the court and it makes us closer on the court,” said Tangorra. Fans can see the team’s chemistry on the court, as they play together with a smooth rhythm.
“A weakness right now is giving up runs of points because of our own errors. It’s not really teams flat out beating us; it’s us helping them with our own errors,” said Tangorra.
The team’s next game will be at Juniata College on Feb. 24. “If we come to play, there aren’t too many teams who can beat us,” said the freshman. The hard work that they put in is shown on the court, which is why Tangorra has such confidence for his team.
