HOBOKEN, N.J.– Eastern University Men's Volleyball dropped a pair of matches to a pair of unbeaten teams in a  hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology. The Eagles dropped a three-set decision to the No. 3 Ducks (8-0)in the opening match and fell in three sets to an unranked and unbeaten Rutgers-Newark side in the middle match of the afternoon.

How It Happened:
Without any extenuating circumstances, the Eagles (2-3) had their work cut out for them. With both middles nursing injury and sophomore outside hitter Darren Lopez battling illness, the challenge became stiffer. Lopez made it through four and a half sets before stopping for the day.

Trey Miller, usually the libero, got a chance to swing in the final set against the Raiders (6-0) and finished with three kills in the loss.

Eastern stayed within shouting distance of the Ducks in the opening set, before falling 25-19. Stevens hit .382 in the match and had only eight hitting errors on the way to the MAC win. Foster Lobb had eight kills and Lopez had four kills and seven digs. The Eagles allowed only three aces in the match. Justin Flor finished with 17 assists.

With fatigue added to the equation, the opening set of the Rutgers-Newark match posed a big problem. The Raiders, who not only beat Stevens today but picked up wins against Messiah and Stevenson earlier this week, capitalized. They pounded out 15 kills on only 21 attacks for a 25-11 win in the opening set.

Despite fatigue and injury, the Eagles battled to closer results in the second and third, but were unable to claim a set from the soon-to-be-ranked Raiders.

Coach Syracuse Says:
"It was a tough day at the office….as a group we need  to heal and re-energize for the coming week. Joon Jeong made his world volleyball debut. He served and played defense for Kiriam and Trey did a nice job stepping into a hitting role. As a team we need to revisit some things that had been strengths."

Up Next:
The Eagles are at Rosemont College on Tuesday and will host a tri-match on Saturday.