HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 3, 2007) – The top-seeded and 24th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team was crowned as the 2007 Empire 8 champions with a 3-0 win (30-23, 30-23, 30-23) over Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday night at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. Junior middle blocker Summer Hamilton was named the tournament MVP as she totaled 18 kills with a .256 hitting percentage and four blocks over two matches.
Stevens advanced to the championship match with a 3-0 win over Ithaca College earlier today. The Tigers reached the finals with a five game win over Nazareth College in the semifinal round. With tonight's win over RIT, the Ducks earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This will be the fourth consecutive year that Stevens has accomplished this feat, following last year's NCAA Elite 8 appearance. The Ducks are also one win away from tying the record for the most wins in a season, which they established during last season.
The Ducks (33-4) jumped out early in Game One with a 22-9 lead over the Tigers (31-10). Hamilton came up big for Stevens as she totaled four kills during the game. Junior middle blocker Jessica Gardner secured the win for the Ducks as she tallied two service aces.
After falling behind 5-10 in the second game, Stevens battled back to knot it at 15-all. Senior outside hitter Dawn Herring pulled the Ducks to a 23-18 lead having posted two of her four kills of the game. Gardner capped off the 7-5 run with two kills of her own.
Once again, Stevens made an early run and never trailed in Game Three as Herring led the way with six kills. With the closest deficit being 11-9, the Ducks put together a 19-14 run to close out the match. On the 28th-point, freshman libero Julia Reilly recorded an ace as a side-out and then a service error from junior libero Kate Gleason (Hamburg, N.Y.) crowned Stevens this year's conference champions.
Gardner finished with eight kills, a pair of blocks and two service aces. Hamilton had nine kills as Reilly ended up with 26 digs. The Ducks also received strong performances from setter/right-side hitter Melissa Rhode, who totaled 41 assists, five kills and five service aces. Herring led in kills (14) and recorded 14 digs as well. Freshman right-side hitter Maggie Majcher chipped in with seven kills in the victory.
The Tigers were led by junior outside hitter Christine Rowinski (Dix Hills, N.Y.), who registered nine kills and 17 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Victoria Petko (East Amherst, Texas) posted seven kills and eight digs. Junior setter Nichole Boxler (Varysburg, N.Y.) finished with 22 assists, while senior outside hitter Michelle Skowzgird (Grayslake, Ill.) ended up with nine kills.
Stevens will host the NCAA New York Regional's Championship from Thursday, November 8 thru Saturday the 10th at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The seedings and pairings will be announced on Monday. All matches will be carried live at www.Empire8.tv.
