HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 4, 2008) – Senior outside hitter Melanie Volk was tabbed the Most Valuable Player at the 2008 Ducks Invitational as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team was crowned champions after a thrilling 3-2 win over SUNY Cortland. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Byrne was also named to the all-tournament team as the Ducks (17-4) have won 12 of their last 13 matches.
Pool A
1. Stevens Institute of Technology
2. CCNY
3. Clarkson
Pool B
1. Cortland
2. Montclair St.
3. St. Mary's (MD)
Friday, October 3rd:
4 p.m. Stevens def. CCNY 3-0
4 p.m. Cortland vs. Montclair St. 3-2
6 p.m. CCNY def. Clarkson 3-1
6 p.m. Cortland def. St. Mary's (Md.) 3-1
8 p.m. Stevens def. Clarkson 3-0
8 p.m. St. Mary's (Md.) def. Montclair St. 3-0
Saturday, October 4th:
10 a.m. Stevens def. St. Mary's (Md.) 3-0
10 a.m. Cortland def. CCNY 3-0
12 p.m. St. Mary's (Md.) def. Clarkson 3-2
12 p.m. CCNY def. Montclair 3-0
2 p.m. Stevens def. Cortland (Championship) 3-2
2 p.m. Montclair def. Clarkson 3-0
Stevens def. CCNY 3-0 (25-8, 25-20, 25-21)
The Ducks finished where they left off a week ago when they rolled through 12-striaght games en route to a 4-0 conference start. Today, they swept the Beavers in three straight to run their record to 14-4. Sophomore right-side hitter Maggie Majcher led the team with 10 kills, two digs and a pair of blocks. Sophomore libero Julia Reilly lofted 10 digs and added an assist, while senior middle blocker Bethany Rankie tallied seven kills three blocks and three digs.
For the Beavers, junior outside hitter Floriana Garo (New York, N.Y.) recorded 11 kills, eight digs, two blocks and an ace in the defeat. Freshman setter Alexis Kinsman (Mystic, Conn.) dished out 21 assists and added a dig as freshman middle blocker Jamie Edindjiklian (Long Beach, N.Y.) notched eight kills and eight blocks in the match.
Cortland vs. Montclair St. 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-10)
The Red Dragons battled back down two games to take the third, fourth and fifth deciding set to pull out the victory and improve to 13-6 on the year. Cortland was led by senior setter Brittney Horton (Owego, N.Y.), who connected on 39 assists and lifted six digs in the win. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Coyle (Mt. Hope, N.Y.) landed nine kills, four aces, six blocks and posted 14 digs, while junior right-side hitter Ariel Rakita (Lake Grove, N.Y.) notched 13 kills and 18 digs for the Red Dragons.
Montclair was headed by junior middle blocker Kara Burnham (Moorestown, N.J.), who recorded 14 kills and three blocks in the loss. Sophomore outside hitter Devon Johnston (Moorestown, N.J.) finished with seven kills, nine digs and an ace, while junior outside hitter Karen Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) totaled 11 kills, 12 digs and three aces as the Hawks fall to 11-7 on the year.
CCNY def. Clarkson 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19)
The Beavers earned its first victory of the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Golden Knights. Garo tallied a team-high 23 kills and added a pair of digs and two service aces. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Blass (Oneonta, N.Y.) landed 11 kills, three digs and two aces, while Kinsman connected on 43 assists and chipped in with three digs. With today's split, CCNY moves to 8-6 on the year.
In its first outing at the Ducks Invitational, Clarkson fell to .500 on the year (10-10) with the loss. Junior outside hitter Jessica Brody (Phoenix, Ariz.) registered 12 kills, four digs and six blocks for the Golden Knights. Sophomore libero Alison Schroeder (Webster, N.Y.) lofted 19 digs and crushed four aces in the match. Freshman middle blocker Nicole Edwards (Weiser, Idaho) finished with eight blocks, four kills and an ace in the defeat.
Cortland def. St. Mary's (MD) 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-17, 25-11)
The Red Dragons earned their second victory at the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Seahawks. Junior outside hitter Michele Gaufman (Wantagh, N.Y.) led the team in kills (20) and tallied seven digs, two aces and a block. Horton was once again stellar as she dished out 47 assists and landed nine kills, seven digs and two aces. Rakita finished the match with 15 digs, 11 kills and a block registered for the Red Dragons.
St. Mary's did not provide stats
Stevens def. Clarkson 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 27-25)
The Ducks closed out Day 1 with a 3-0 sweep of the Golden Knights. Stevens is now slatted to take on St. Mary's College at 10 a.m. on Saturday. In the win over Clarkson, sophomore outside hitter Sarah Byrne posted nine kills, 13 digs and an ace. Senior outside hitter Melanie Volk had a team-high 14 kills as she added eight digs and two assists. Majcher accumulated nine kills, five blocks, four assists and a dig in the win.
With the loss, the Golden Knights are scheduled to face the loser of the Stevens and St. Mary's match up tomorrow. During the match against the Ducks, junior setter Jenna Stock (Johnstown, N.Y.) dished out 15 assists and lofted nine digs. Freshman outside hitter Megan Mahon (Irvine, Calif.) led the team in kills (nine) as she finished with three digs. Edwards registered three blocks and two kills as Clarkson falls to 10-11 on the season.
St. Mary's (MD) def. Montclair St. 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-17)
St. Mary's did not provide stats. St. Mary's will face Stevens at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
In the loss to the Seahawks, MSU was led by Johnston, who collected nine kills, eight digs, two blocks and a service ace. Martin followed with seven kills and a pair of digs. Junior middle blocker Anna Chesnakova (East Brunswick, N.J.) posted two kills and four blocks. The Red Hawks will take on the loser of the Cortland and CCNY match up at noon.
Stevens def. St. Mary's (Md.) 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-21)
With the win, the Ducks advance to the championship round where they will face Cortland State at 2 p.m. Trailing in the first two sets, Stevens battled back and fought off game point in each of the sets to grab a 2-0 lead. Down two (22-24) in Game 1, the Ducks went on a 4-0 run to take a 1-0 advantage. In the second set, Stevens was trailing 18-21 as it went on an 8-3 run to claim the game and crush the momentum of the Seahawks. Byrne tallied 12 kills, three blocks and 14 digs. Rhode dished out 16 assists and added six digs. Volk finished the match with eight kills, 11 digs and two aces.
In the loss to Stevens, junior outside hitter Katie Ewing (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the team in kills with nine and added a block. Senior middle blocker Becca Tursell (Ellicott City, Md.) produced a .308 hitting percentage on 13 attempts as she landed seven kills with only three errors. Senior setter Megan Graydon (West Friendship, Md.) connected on 19 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Claire Kodan (Olney, Md.) lifted 11 digs.
Cortland def. CCNY 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25, 22)
With the victory, the Red Dragons will take on Stevens at 2 p.m. in the championship round. For Cortland, Gaufman led the team in kills (17) and added seven digs en route to its 15th win (15-6) of the season. Horton posted 34 assists, seven digs and a pair of aces, while Rakita totaled 11 digs, 10 kills and two blocks.
CCNY was led by Garo, who accumulated 16 kills, 11 digs, two blocks and an ace. Sophomore right-side hitter Karina Castro (Brentwood, N.Y.) landed nine kills and nine digs in the loss. Kinsman dished out 29 assists and recorded six digs and a pair of blocks. The Beavers will square off against Montclair at noon.
CCNY def. Montclair 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 29-27)
The Beavers picked up their second win at the tournament to finish 2-2 at the 2008 Ducks Invitational. Castro led with 13 kills, eight digs and four aces. Garo followed suit as she landed 10 kills, lofted 11 digs and added a pair of aces. Kinsman connected on 36 assists as she finished with seven digs and three kills. With the split, CCNY moves to 9-7 on the year.
Montclair lost its third match of the tournament as it stands 11-9 on the year. The Red Hawks were led by Johnston, who tallied 10 kills, six digs a block and a service ace. Martin registered 10 kills, four digs and a pair of blocks, while Burnham chipped in with five kills and three blocks. Montclair is scheduled to take on Clarkson at 2 p.m.
St. Mary's (Md.) def. Clarkson 3-2 (19-25, 26-28, 25-7, 25-14, 15-8)
Trailing two games to none, the Seahawks ended their weekend on a high note as they clawed back into the match to pull out a five-set win over Clarkson. Junior outside hitter Sarah Gregorini (Ellicott City, Md.) totaled 12 kills and 11 digs for St. Mary's. Ewing produced a .400 hitting percentage on 20 swings having landed 10 kills with just two errors. Graydon connected on 23 assists and added four digs, while Kodan led defensively with 14 digs. The Seahawks head back to Maryland with a 19-4 overall ledger after a split performance this weekend.
For the Golden Knights, Brody had a team-high 10 kills as she lofted eight digs and totaled eight blocks. Stock launched 24 assists and recorded nine digs, four aces and a pair of kills. Schroeder notched 21 digs and finished with three aces and an assist. Clarkson will take on Montclair at 2 p.m.
Montclair def. Clarkson 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18)
The Red Hawks earned its first win at the tournament having swept the Golden Knights in three straight. Martin led the way with 11 kills, two digs and an ace, while Johnston buried six kills and lofted eight digs. Chesnakova finished the match with six kills, an assist and five total blocks. With its performance at the invite, Montclair moves to 12-9 on the year.
For Clarkson, Stock tallied seven kills, three digs, two aces and dished out 12 assists in the loss. Schroeder lifted 14 digs as Edwards notched five kills and four blocks. The Golden Knights dropped four matches at the invitational to fall to 18-5.
Stevens def. Cortland (Championship) 3-2 (25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 25-27, 15-9)
With a two-set lead, the Ducks had trouble closing the door as Cortland crept back into the match taking games three and four. With a slight lead before the switch of Game 5 (8-6), Stevens came out firing having posted a 7-1 run to close out the match and walk away as champions of the 2008 Ducks Invitational. Volk was stellar, having recorded 19 kills, 17 digs and a pair of blocks. Rhode brought her “A game” as she connected on 26 assists, nine digs and eight kills. Budar dished out 20 assists and lofted 13 digs in the win.
For Cortland, Horton accumulated 43 assists, six total blocks, nine digs and a kill. Rakita lifted 15 digs and landed 14 kills, while senior outside hitter Haleigh Muka (Lansing, N.Y.) tallied 10 kills and four digs for the Red Dragons. Cortland heads back to upstate New York having posted a 3-1 record over the weekend to run its overall mark to 15-7.
All-Tournament Team
Junior outside hitter Floriana Garo (New York, N.Y.) - CCNY
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Byrne - Stevens
Senior setter Brittney Horton (Owego, N.Y.) - Cortland
Junior outside hitter Michelle Gaufman (Wantagh, N.Y.) - Cortland
Junior setter Jenna Stock (Johnstown, N.Y.) - Clarkson
Sophomore outside hitter Claire Kodan (Olney, Md.) - St. Mary's
Tournament MVP - Senior outside hitter Melanie Volk - Stevens
