HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 10, 2007) – One week after capturing its first-ever Empire 8 conference championship, Stevens Institute of Technology kept the ball rolling as the Ducks claimed their second-straight NCAA Division III New York Region Championship by virtue of a 30-24, 30-27, 30-27 victory over Nazareth College on Saturday evening at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, Stevens improved to a school-best 36-4 on the year. The Ducks also advanced to the national quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
Coming up this week, Stevens will take on the No. 1 team in the nation as the Ducks collide with unbeaten Wittenberg University on Thursday at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill. The Tigers rolled into the national quarterfinals by winning the Great Lakes Regional title earlier this evening. The time of the Stevens-Wittenberg match has not been set.
Stevens jumped on top early as freshman right-side hitter Maggie Majcher recorded five kills in the first game.
“Maggie came up big for us,” Head Coach J.J. O'Connell (Ithaca N.Y.). “We liked the match-up going into tonight's match, and we planned for her to have a great outing.”
The Ducks jumped out to a 15-10 lead in Game 2 as Majcher recorded four of her five kills to give Stevens the lead. The Golden Flyers pulled within three points (19-16) by some strong attacking from junior outside hitter Laura Persico (Ravena, N.Y.), who posted three of her five kills. Nazareth tried to establish a late comeback down five points (29-24); however, following a timeout from O'Connell, the Ducks received a kill from senior outside hitter Dawn Herring to close out the game.
As the Golden Flyers felt their hopes of a regional championship slipping away, they came out in Game 3 with a full head of steam. The game saw the score tied 10 different times. Persico notched eight kills as Nazareth was able to grab its largest lead at 26-23. Once again O'Connell called a timeout to provide support to his squad. A spark was lit as the Ducks went on a 7-1 run to claim the victory and earn their second consecutive trip to the quarterfinals of the national championship.
“We made sure that the women were prepared for tonight's match. Over half of our practice today was devoted to establishing a solid defensive game plan to take into the match. Nazareth was well coached and its middles played extremely well as they ran multiple attacks that we have not seen before,” said O'Connell.
The Ducks received strong performances from outside hitter Melanie Volk and junior setter/right-side hitter Melissa Rhode. Volk totaled 11 kills, 15 digs and a pair of blocks in the win. Rhode led in assists (39) and finished with 10 digs.
“Volk and Rhode did a great job containing Tregan and Vanderstyne,” O'Connell said. “Our outside blockers provided support on the net.”
Herring ended up with 12 kills and five digs as Majcher tallied 13 kills and produced a hitting percentage of .478. Junior middle blockers Jessica Gardner and Summer Hamilton provided the support the Ducks needed to secure the victory. Gardner posted four kills and a pair of blocks, while Hamilton added six kills and four digs.
The Golden Flyers were led by Persico, who finished with 15 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Katelynn Reed (Horseheads, N.Y.) recorded 10 kills and a pair of blocks. Sophomore libero Mallorie Clary (Baltimore, Md.) totaled 25 digs, while sophomore setter Kate Zwickl (Chester, N.Y.) led in assists (32) and added six digs. Nazareth ended its season with a 28-12 overall record.
