Alexa Bianchi's 18 kills helped Stevens to a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph's in the Skyline semifinals. |
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 4, 2006) – Sophomore middle blocker Alexa Bianchi (North Caldwell, N.J.) hit .516 with 18 kills and only two errors in 31 total attempts as the top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team defeated fourth-seeded St. Joseph’s College 30-11, 30-15, 30-24 on Saturday morning at the Canavan Arena to advance to the championship match of the 2006 Skyline Conference Tournament. In the second semifinal of the day, No. 2 seed Farmingdale State University and third-seeded SUNY College at Old Westbury are scheduled to meet at noon. The winner of that match will take on Stevens (30-5) at 3 p.m.
In the victory over St. Joseph’s (20-15), the Ducks received a solid performance from sophomore outside hitter Melanie Volk (Thompson Station, Tenn.), who registered 13 kills. Volk hit .522 (13-1-23) in the match. Senior outside hitter/libero Rachel Ostroff (North Miami, Fla.) added 25 digs. Senior setter Micki Biltz (Lakewood, Ohio) had 38 assists and four digs. Sophomore middle blocker Jessica Gardner (Penfield, N.Y.) finished with six kills and no errors in 13 attempts for a .462-hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Dawn Herring (Prince Frederick, Md.) posted seven digs and six kills. Junior right-side hitter JoAnne Pojuner (Princeton Junction, N.J.) collected five kills for the Ducks.
Stevens, which hit .469 (60-7-113) as a team against the Golden Eagles, won for the 13th time in its last 14 matches. The Ducks have also won 23 of 25 overall. Stevens will be seeking its third-straight Skyline Conference championship and NCAA berth when it takes on Farmingdale or Old Westbury later today.
