HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 7, 2009) – The top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team extended its win-streak against conference opponents to 63 matches – a streak that dates back to 2004 when the program competed in the Skyline Conference – en route to its third-consecutive Empire 8 title. The Ducks downed fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14) in the tournament opener before defeating third-seeded Ithaca College 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-18) in the nightcap.
Junior outside hitter Sarah Byrne tallied 25 kills and 16 digs in two tournament matches en route to Empire 8 Championship Most Valuable Player honors, while freshman counterpart Maggie Kowalska had 19 kills. Junior Julia Reilly chipped in with 29 digs, while fellow junior Sara Budar collected 71 assists and 20 digs in the Ducks’ pair of wins.
With the win Stevens receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks will make their sixth-consecutive tournament appearance under eighth-year head coach J.J. O’Connell. This year’s field of 62 will be announced on Monday, November 9 at 11 a.m. and may be viewed live via webcast at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-volley/ncaa-w-volley-body.html.
Semifinals
No. 1 Stevens 3, No. 4 St. John Fisher 1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14)
Senior newcomer Brittany Fuller (East Rockaway, N.Y.) led Stevens with a team-high 13 kills, while Byrne had 12 kills and 10 digs. Kowalska had 10 kills in the win, while juniors Maggie Majcher (Rahway, N.J.) and Reilly combined for nine kills and 22 digs. Budar had 38 assists in the win.
Junior middle blocker Sydney Kandefer (Alden, N.Y.) paced the Cardinals offensively, with a team-high 11 kills. Senior setter Elaina Braun (Waterloo, N.Y.) had 26 assists in the loss, while sophomore Becca Smith (Orchard Park, N.Y.) had six kills and 11 digs in a losing effort.
Set 1
Kandefer capped off a 4-1 Cardinal run to start the first set as St. John Fisher took an early three-point lead. Majcher recorded her first kill of the afternoon to make it 5-3. The Cardinals responded, upping the score to 11-6 thanks to a 6-3 run before a Reilly service ace capped off a 3-0 Stevens rally that pared the lead to two.
Braun tallied an ace to push the St. John Fisher lead to four. Trailing 23-19, Byrne tallied her third kill of the set to bring the Ducks within three, but Smith recorded back-to-back kills to put Stevens away, 25-20.
Set 2
Fuller capped off an 11-4 Stevens run to start the second set, giving the Ducks an early seven-point margin before Reilly tallied her second service ace of the match to give Stevens an eight-point edge at 14-6.
Down, 15-6, St. John Fisher mounted an 8-2 run to slice the Stevens lead to three but Kowalska registered two of the matches’ next three points to spark a 10-1 Ducks run to close out the second set, 25-15.
Set 3
Trailing 4-5 in the pivotal third set, Majcher registered her first service ace of the match, kicking off 6-0 Stevens run that forced a St. John Fisher timeout and helped the Ducks regain a 10-5 advantage. Smith notched a kill out of the break to bring the Cardinals within four, but back-to-back kills by Kowalska and fellow freshman Michelle Plotzker gave Stevens a 12-6 edge.
Ahead 16-9, Fuller recorded a kill to give the Ducks an eight-point lead, but the Cardinals would score three of the matches’ next five points to pull within six. Byrne then hammered home a kill that sparked Stevens’ 7-6 run down the stretch that gave the Ducks a 25-19 victory in the third set.
Set 4
Trailing, 3-1, early in the fourth set, Stevens mounted a 9-2 run to take a 10-5 lead. The Cardinals scored two out of the set’s next three points to pull within four, but a Byrne kill quelled the St. John Fisher run, while once again giving the Ducks a five-point margin.
Up, 16-11, Kowalska tallied back-to-back kills to give Stevens a seven-point edge. St. John Fisher would rattle off two straight points to pare the Cardinal deficit back down to five, but another Kowalska kill sparked a 7-1 Stevens run to close out the fourth and final set, 25-14.
No. 3 Ithaca 3, No. 2 Nazareth 1 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-14)
Senior outside hitter Rachel Busch (North Canton, Ohio) led the Bombers attack with a match-high 14 kills, while sophomore Karin Edsall (Cornwall, N.Y.) added nine kills. Fellow sophomore Chelsea Hayes (Haworth, N.J.) finished with seven kills, while junior libero Taylor Horton (Lake Oswego, Ore.) had a team-high 14 kills. Senior setter Corinna Doctor (Skaneateles, N.Y.) totaled 38 assists and 12 digs in the win.
Sophomore Ashlee Travis (Hammondsport, N.Y.) had six kills to lead Nazareth, while senior middle blocker Katelynn Reed (Horseheads, N.Y.) and freshman outside hitter Liz Towne (Manlius, N.Y.) each had four kills. Senior Mallorie Clary (Baltimore, Md.) had 15 digs in the loss, while senior setter Kate Zwickl (Chester, N.Y.) chipped in with 24 assists.
Set 1
After a Travis kill cut the Ithaca lead to 5-3, Busch recorded back-to-back kills, sparking a 9-4 Bomber run that gave Ithaca a seven-point edge. Another Travis kill coupled with a Horton service ace would pare the Golden Flyer deficit to five, but a Hayes kill kicked-off a 5-0 Bomber run that gave Ithaca a commanding 20-9 advantage.
Following a quick 4-0 Nazareth rally that cut the margin to seven, Ithaca sophomore middle hitter Elizabeth Previte (Flemington, N.J.) hammered home a kill that helped the Bombers outscore their Golden Flyer counterparts, 5-3, to close out the first set, 25-16.
Set 2
Down 10-7 early in the second, Busch put away a kill that helped spark an 8-2 Ithaca run that gave the Bombers a 15-12 edge. With the set knotted at 19, sophomore middle hitter Kate Thoene (High Bridge, N.J.) notched back-to-back kills to put Ithaca back on top, 21-19.
Bombers freshman outside hitter Stephanie Lavallato (Flemington, N.J.) would tally her first kill of the match to up the Ithaca lead to three before Thoene struck again, following a pair of Nazareth points, to up the Ithaca lead to 23-21 en route to a 25-21 second set victory.
Set 3
Nazareth raced out to a 9-3 lead in the third set capped off by a pair of Leah Farrell (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) service aces. Ithaca junior Tina Orlandini (Altadena, Calif.) tallied a service ace of her own to cap off an ensuing 10-6 Ithaca run that cut the Golden Flyers advantage to one.
Clinging to a 14-13 lead, Nazareth would tally three of the set’s next four points to take a 17-14 edge, but the Golden Flyers would outscore the Bombers 8-7 down the stretch to stay alive in the best-of-five match.
Set 4
Hoping to close out Nazareth, Ithaca began the fourth set on a 10-2 run. Golden Flyers freshman Brittany Crocetti (Rochester, N.Y.) would momentarily quell the Bombers hot-streak with a kill that led to three-straight Nazareth points making it 10-5.
Ithaca responded by outscoring Nazareth, 8-4 over the set’s next 12 points to take a comfortable 18-9 lead. After a Thoene kill made it 20-12 in favor of Ithaca, the Bombers closed out the match on a 5-2 run to advance to the Empire 8 championship match.
Championship
No. 1 Stevens 3, No. 3 Ithaca 0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-18)
Behind Byrne’s match-high 13 kills, top-seeded Stevens swept third-seeded Ithaca,3-0, to capture their third-consecutive Empire 8 tournament title. Kowalska added nine kills and four blocks, while Majcher finished with six kills and 10 digs. Reilly added a match-high 17 digs, with Budar collecting 33 assists and 11 digs in the win.
Busch led Ithaca with 11 kills, while Hayes added seven kills. Thoene finished with six kills, while Horton, Doctor, and Orlandini added 10 digs a piece. Doctor also tallied 31 assists in the loss.
Set 1
Kowalska notched her first kill of the championship match to cap off a 3-1 Stevens run to begin the first set before a pair of Ithaca points knotted the score at three. Trailing 5-4, Majcher tallied a kill to even the set. After Ithaca regained the lead, in what seemed to quickly be turning into a see-saw affair, Majcher recorded her second kill of the set to tie it at seven.
Down 9-8, Ithaca rattled off four straight points to take a three point edge, but the Ducks once again battled back, outscoring the Bombers 5-2 over the next seven points to take back the lead. Clinging to a slim 14-12 margin, Majcher and Kowalska registered back-to-back kills to give Stevens its largest margin of the set, but Ithaca fought back, capturing six of the set’s next nine points to take an 18-17 lead.
A Majcher kill coupled with a Fuller block following a Stevens timeout would give the Ducks a 19-18 advantage before four-straight Ithaca points put the Ducks in a three-point hole. Unfazed, the top-seeded Ducks mounted a 3-0 run of their own to once again tie the set. Down, 24-23, Edsall hammered home a kill which tied the match and helped the Bombers regain a 25-24 advantage. A Byrne kill knotted the set at 25 before a Budar service ace coupled with a Kowalska block give the Ducks a closely contested first set, 27-25.
Set 2
Holding on to a 6-5 lead early in the second set, Kowalska ripped a cross-court kill to give the Ducks a two-point edge before Thoene scored a kill of her own to make it 7-6. Majcher then registered a service ace in between a pair of Byrne kills to give Stevens its biggest lead of the set at 10-6.
A Busch kill coupled with a Lavallato service ace trimmed the Bomber deficit to three before an Edsall kill made it 13-11. After a Fuller kill pushed the Stevens edge back up to four at 17-13, Majcher recorded another service ace to up the Ducks’ lead to five, but Ithaca bounced back with a pair of points to pare the lead back down to three.
Up 20-15, Byrne blocked down a would-be Bomber kill coming off an Ithaca timeout, sparking a 5-3 Stevens run that helped the Ducks to a 25-18 triumph in the second set.
Set 3
Trailing 5-3 to start the third set, Ithaca mounted a 3-0 run to take a 6-5 lead, but a pair of Plotzker and Kowalska kills helped Stevens regain a 7-6 lead. Hoping to stave off elimination, Ithaca responded with a 5-1 run to retake the lead, 11-8. Still down, 12-10, Byrne recorded back-to-back kills, sparking a 5-0 Ducks run that helped Stevens to a 15-12 edge.
Facing a 16-14 deficit, Horton registered an ace to bring Ithaca within one before a Thoene block evened the set score at 16. After a Byrne kill made it 17-16, Kowalska notched a kill of her own, giving Stevens a two-point edge. Up, 20-18, Kowalska added another kill to spur a 5-0 Stevens run that gave the Ducks’ their third-straight Empire 8 title.
