Hoboken, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team survived a marathon third set to clinch a sweep of MAC Freedom-leading DeSales University 25-10, 25-18, and 29-27 Wednesday evening from Canavan Arena.
Stevens improved to 17-6 overall and moved into a tie for first in the conference at 4-1 with the Bulldogs and Lebanon Valley; DeSales dropped to 8-13 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Five Ducks (Parker Adkins, Elle Maggio, Bailey Axelrad, Cleo Shannon, Vivian Lisboa) had at least one kill early on as the Ducks grabbed a 9-4 lead in the opening set. Vivian Lisboa recorded two service aces across five service attempts, pushing the lead to 13-4. Two Meg Dion kills plus two more each from Maggio and Lisboa kept the Bulldogs at bay, as the visitors registered several errors down the stretch, allowing the Ducks to reel off 11 of 14 points, including eight straight, to close out the first set.
DeSales took a 5-2 lead in the second, but an error, plus one kill each from Shannon, Adkins, and Lisboa pulled the Ducks even at 6-6. From there, neither team held more than a two-point cushion until back-to-back Bulldogs errors put the Ducks up 19-16 (Adkins had three kills among Stevens 13 prior points). Three more Bulldogs errors, a service ace from Lisboa, and kills by Adkins and Shannon gave the Red and Gray a two-set advantage.
The Ducks opened the third set on an 8-3 run, getting two kills from Maggio and one each from Lisboa and Axelrad. From there, DeSales reeled off its first rally of the set, taking the next five points to knot things at 8-all. After a brief Stevens lead became a 13-13 tie, kills from Maggio and Shannon, a trio of DeSales errors, and a service ace from Maggio put the Ducks up 19-14. After DeSales again rallied to knot things at 19, then again at 20, Stevens roared right back with four straight points – three off kills from Adkins – creating four match point opportunities. DeSales rallied once again to knot things at 24, but Stevens kept the pressure on, forcing the Bulldogs to defend match point after match point, ending the night with a kill from Maggio and an attack error from the Bulldogs.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Stevens improved to 6-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 4-0 at Canavan.
• The Ducks hit .268, their sixth-highest mark of the season.
• Adkins finished with 11 kills, the lone Duck to finish in double digits.
• Molly Harris finished with 38 assists, raising her assists/set for the year to 9.84.
FROM THE COURT
“Tonight was a fun night! We showed up and executed the scout and our game plan very well. Offensively, we were able to get a lot of people involved and mix up our shots to score points. I am proud of the team and how they performed tonight!” – Head Coach Macon Frey
UP NEXT
The Ducks head to Union, N.J. for a tri-match with Grinnell College and host Kean University; the Ducks will play Friday, October 25, at 4:00 and 8:00 pm.
