Dawn Herring had seven kills and three digs against Mount Saint Mary. |
HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 19, 2006) – Junior outside hitter Dawn Herring (Prince Frederick, Md.) collected seven kills and three digs in leading the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team to its 24th straight win against a Skyline Conference opponent as the Ducks posted a 3-0 victory over Mount Saint Mary College on Tuesday evening at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, Stevens improved to 10-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Blue Knights dropped to 5-9 (2-1 Skyline) on the season.
Following a side-out in the first game, Stevens rattled off 12 straight points on sophomore middle blocker Bethany Rankie’s (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) serve to grab a 16-1 lead right out of the gate. The Ducks were never challenged as they pulled away for the 30-8 victory.
With most of the Ducks’ starters on the bench at the start of the second game, Mount Saint Mary took advantage and raced to a 19-12 lead. After an important side-out, Stevens reclaimed control of the game by scoring 10 straight points behind the solid service of junior right-side hitter JoAnne Pojuner (Princeton Junction, N.J.) to take a 23-19 lead. The Ducks closed out the game on an 18-8 run as they turned a seven-point deficit into a 30-27 win.
Tied at 8-all in the third game, Stevens out-scored the Blue Knights 15-4 to open a 23-12 advantage. The Ducks went on to win the game by the final score of 30-14.
Sophomore middle blocker Summer Hamilton (San Diego, Calif.) posted seven kills in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Melanie Volk (Thompson Station, Tenn.) hit .571 with four kills and no attack errors in seven total attempts. Volk added seven digs and two blocks for the Ducks. Sophomore setter/right-side hitter Melissa Rhode (New Orleans, La.) had four kills, 11 assists and three digs in the victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Petrocelli (Norwood, N.J.) finished with four kills and three digs, while Rankie chipped in with three kills. Senior outside hitter/libero Rachel Ostroff (North Miami, Fla.) registered four kills and nine digs. Senior setter Micki Biltz (Lakewood, Ohio) accumulated a team-high 16 digs to go along with seven digs and two blocks.
Mount Saint Mary was led by junior setter Katie Goodrich (Binghamton, N.Y.), who had 19 assists, four digs, two kills and a service ace. Junior outside hitter Ashley Barnhart (Kingston, N.Y.) posted seven kills in the loss. Senior outside hitter Shannon King (Beacon, N.Y.) tallied three kills and 16 digs for the Blue Knights.
Stevens returns to action on Friday when it takes on Geneva College at the Carnegie Mellon University Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. Stevens will also play Otterbein College on Friday at 4 p.m.
