Micki Biltz is the all-time leader for service aces at Stevens with 260 for her career.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (October 7, 2006) – Senior setter Micki Biltz (Lakewood, Ohio) became the all-time leader for career service aces at Stevens Institute of Technology as she helped the Ducks to a second-place finish at the 2006 New York University Women’s Volleyball Violet Classic on Saturday at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in New York, N.Y.  Biltz registered two aces in a three-game sweep of City College of New York to surpass Margeritte Abdelkodoos (North Arlington, N.J.) for first place on the all-time list.

Thanks to a pair of victories on Saturday, Stevens (19-4) finished the Violet Classic with a 3-1 record.  NYU captured the championship with a perfect 4-0 mark.  Junior outside hitter Dawn Herring (Prince Frederick, Md.) earned all-tournament honors for her play during the four matches for the Ducks.

Stevens opened Saturday with a convincing 30-15, 30-20, 30-20 victory over CCNY as Biltz registered 20 assists and three digs.  She also had two service aces to give her 253 for her career – which was one more than Abdelkodoos accumulated from 2001-04.  Biltz would later add seven more aces in a 3-1 win over St. John Fisher College to raise her career total to 260.

Herring hit .500 in the win over the Beavers with 10 kills and three errors in 14 attempts.  Freshman outside hitter Laura Johnson (Middletown, N.Y.) added seven kills and six digs.  Senior outside hitter/libero Rachel Ostroff (North Miami, Fla.) finished with 12 digs.  Meanwhile, sophomore middle blocker Bethany Rankie (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) hit .857 with six kills and no errors in seven attempts.  Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Petrocelli (Norwood, N.J.) had six kills as well.

The Ducks closed out the tournament with a 24-30, 30-24, 30-16, 30-21 victory over St. John Fisher.  Ostroff led the way with 24 digs.  Biltz had 41 assists, seven aces, five digs and four kills.  Sophomore setter/right-side hitter Melissa Rhode (New Orleans, La.) posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with nine digs and four service aces.  Herring added nine kills and 21 digs.

Sophomore middle blocker Summer Hamilton (San Diego, Calif.) had a solid match with six kills, four blocks and two aces.  Sophomore middle blocker Jessica Gardner (Penfield, N.Y.) hit .435 with 13 kills and only three errors in 23 attempts.

Stevens will return to action on Monday with a key Skyline Conference match against Farmingdale State University.  First serve is slated for 7 p.m. in Farmingdale, N.Y.  The Ducks will enter that contest with a 4-0 mark in conference play.  The Rams are currently 3-0.  Stevens has won 25 straight matches against Skyline opponents.