HOBOKEN, N.J. (4/18/2025) – The Nichols College men's volleyball saga continues on Saturday, as the Bison pulled off a historic upset of No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology Friday evening, defeating the host Ducks in a four-set thriller, 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 31-29) inside Canavan Arena.
The Bison advance to the NCAA DIII Tournament Quarterfinal round for the first time in program history, and improve to 21-14 (6-0 NEVC) overall.
The Bison were strong on all fronts, with graduate student
Tanner Soracco notching 17 kills with eight digs to lead the offense. Senior
Dylan Knapp hammered 16 kills in the win, his highest single-game performance this season, while hitting a team-best .433 against the Ducks.
Jack Normandin, picked up his second straight double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs, while sophomore
Cade Bernardi reinforced the defense with 21 digs, a personal best for the libero. As a team, the Bison connected for 62 total kills on a .263 clip, as compared to Stevens' 59 on .235 hitting.
The teams went point-for-point early in the first set, until the Bison gained a three-point edge of 14-11 following a service ace by
Evan Sachs, forcing the Ducks into a timeout. Out of the pause, the Bison tacked on an additional point to make it a 16-12 game, only for Stevens to battle back to tie the score at 17-all. The next several points were shared evenly, until kills from Normandin and Soracco gave Nichols a late 23-20 edge, forcing a second timeout by the Ducks. Nichols returned to win two of the next three points, earning them a 25-21 win in the first and a 1-0 match lead.
The hosts used a 7-2 run to begin the second set and grab the early lead over the Bison, causing them to take the early timeout. Stevens went on to maintain the remainder of the set, further extending their lead to as many as seven points, resulting in a 25-19 victory for the Ducks to tie the match at 1-1.
After using the break to regroup, the Herd came out swinging in the third with a sizeable 10-5 lead, culminating in three straight kills between Soracco, Knapp and freshman
Adam Vincent. The Ducks answered by scoring a 5-1 run to close the gap to 11-10 Bison, but Nichols remained in the lead the rest of the way, with a Knapp kill bringing the score to set point, 24-22. Nichols then snagged the winning point following a Duck attack error, placing them back in the lead for the match, 2-1.
The Bison experienced some déjà vu early in the fourth set, as Stevens opened with a 7-2 lead. However, they wouldn't be denied a second time as they stampeded back with a 9-2 run late in the action featuring a combined four kills between Soracco and Knapp, tying the score at 24-24. The intensity continued through a lengthy tiebreaker that saw Stevens clinging to a 29-28 advantage, until a Pomainville kill followed by back-to-back Stevens attack errors stole the win for the Bison, completing the upset.
The Bison advance to the National Quarterfinal to face the winner of No. 12 Wentworth and No. 5 Juniata. The match will take place at 6:30 PM inside Canavan Arena in Hoboken, New Jersey.
