HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 16, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team captured its second straight victory with a 3-1 (25-10, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24) win over Swarthmore College. Junior outside hitter Sarah Byrne tallied 18 kills and 11 digs to lead the Ducks past the Garnet, snapping Swarthmore's five-match win streak. Stevens is now 6-5 on the season, while the Garnet fell to 7-3 on the year.
With Stevens clinging to a slim 7-6 lead in the first set, Byrne hammered home her third kill of the evening, sparking an 11-3 Ducks run. Up 19-10, Byrne would spearhead another Stevens' rally, tallying her fourth kill of the day, as the Ducks closed out the first set 25-10.
After dropping a closely contested second set, 25-20, the Ducks would rally to win the pivotal third set, 25-21. Down 10-6 in the fourth set, Byrne once again provided the spark for the Stevens attack, tallying three kills during a crucial 14-9 run that gave the Ducks a 20-19 advantage.
Three straight kills by Garnet senior outside hitter Johanna Bond (Pittsford, N.Y.) coupled with a Kathryn Montemurro (Bogota, N.J.) kill, would give Swarthmore a 23-20 lead, but Byrne would answer with her 17th kill of the match to cut the lead to 23-21. Junior outside hitter Maggie Majcher and newcomer Brittany Fuller would record back to back kills for the Ducks to knot the set at 23, before a Montemurro kill gave Swarthmore a 24-23 edge. With the set tied at 24, Byrne tallied her match-high 18th kill before freshman outside hitter Maggie Kowalska collected her seventh kill of the match to close out the Garnet, 26-24.
Fuller tallied a season-high 11 kills in the win, while Majcher added six kills and 11 digs. Kowalska added seven kills and six blocks, while fellow freshman Michelle Plotzker totaled four kills and five blocks. Junior libero Julia Reilly amassed 21 digs, with fellow junior Sara Budar collecting 40 assists. Reilly's 16th dig of the evening moved her into sixth-place on the program's all-time charts.
Sophomore outside hitter Genny Pezzola (Oakland, Calif.) led the Garnet with a 11-kill, 14-dig effort, while Bond finished with nine kills. Senior setter Kearney Bangs (Kingston, Wash.) finished with 17 assists.
Stevens will host to SUNY Cortland on Friday, September 18 at 5 p.m. in its annual Duck Country match at Canavan Arena. The Ducks hold a 3-1 record all-time against the Red Dragons and will look to repeat last season's 3-2 victory over SUNY Cortland in the Ducks Invitational.
