SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (November 13, 2008) – Senior right-side hitter Melissa Rhode produced a .650 hitting percentage with 13 kills on 20 swings and no errors to help advance the 25th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team to the second round of the NCAA New York Regional Tournament with a sweep of Sage Colleges Thursday evening in Schenectady, N.Y. The Ducks will face SUNY Fredonia tomorrow at 6 p.m. at the same site. Stevens took down the Blue Devils earlier this season in three sets (25-11, 25-9, 25-19).
Stevens took care of business in the opening set of the NCAA Regional Tournament as it came away with Set 1 by a 25-15 count. The Ducks jumped ahead 6-1 as Stevens rallied off three straight points behind the serving of sophomore libero Julia Reilly. During that stretch, senior outside hitter Melanie Volk had a pair of kills, while senior middle blocker Jessica Gardner added a block assist. The Ducks went on a 12-9 run to take a commanding 18-10 lead. Gardner had two kills, Volk, Rhode and junior outside hitter Laura Johnson each had one apiece. A pair of kills by Rhode and a service error by Sage allowed Stevens to close out Set 1 and take an early 1-0 advantage.
Trailing 10-11 in the second set, the Ducks started to click offensively as they went on a 10-6 run to jump ahead 20-17. Volk was responsible for three of the last five points as she landed three kills. Rhode registered a pair of kills of her own, including the deciding point to allow Stevens to take a two-set lead as the Ducks went on to win 25-19.
In the third set, Stevens grabbed an early lead as attacking and ball handling errors by the Gators put Sage in a deep hole. The Ducks were resilient on the offensive end having taken advantage of Sage's miscues. Ahead 11-6, Stevens went on a 14-6 run to close out the match and advance to the second round of the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Ducks received several kills from multiple players down the stretch to take the third set 25-16.
Volk was second on the squad in kills as she finished with 12. She totaled a .323 hitting percentage and added 12 digs in the win. Gardner hit .538 on the day as she tallied seven kills, with no errors on 13 attempts. She posted a service ace and a pair of blocks as well. Sophomore right-side hitter Maggie Majcher had a significant impact on the team's performance as she landed seven kills on 13 swings with just two errors for a .385 attacking rating.
Sophomore setter Sara Budar dished out a team-high 21 assists and recorded an ace. Rhode connected on 19 assists, lifted eight digs and added a block solo. Reilly led the squad defensively as she lofted 12 digs. As a team, the Ducks out-blocked (5-3) and out-hit (.330-.072) the Gators. Stevens produced hitting percentages in order of .314, .444 and .244 over each of the sets. The Ducks move to 33-4 on the year and are now 51-0 against regional opponents.
