HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 19, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team began the day with a, 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13), victory over Williams College to advance to the championship match of the 2009 Ducks Classic, but No. 24 Eastern University would down the Ducks, 3-1 (25-2, 14-25, 25-9, 25-17) en route to the Classic Crown. Stevens, which entered the championship tilt on a four-match win-streak, is now 8-6 on the season, while the Eagles moved to 8-1 on the year.
Eastern's sophomore setter Maria Horning (Denver, Pa.) earned All-Tournament MVP honors for her efforts, while teammate Courtney Reinhold (Adamstown, Pa.) also received All-Tournament accolades. Rounding out the 2009 Ducks Classic All-Tournament team were Stevens' Sarah Byrne and Julia Reilly, SUNY Cortland's Michelle Gaufman (Wantagh, N.Y.), and Williams College's junior setter Emily Avis (Palo Alto, Calif.).
Stevens returns to action on September 26 and 27 when it opens up Empire 8 play against Hartwick College, Utica College, St. John Fisher College, and Ithaca College in Oneonta, N.Y. The Ducks will face the Hawks and Pioneers on September 26 before facing off against the Cardinals and Bombers on September 27. Stevens is 20-0 in conference action since joining the league in the fall of 2007.
Stevens 3, Williams 2 (24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13)
After dropping a closely contested first set, 26-24, Stevens rebounded with a 25-21 victory in set two, but the Ephs would hit a match-high .371 to take the third set, 25-22. The Ducks would rally with a 25-21 triumph in the fourth set before ousting Williams with a 15-13 win in the fifth and final set.
Freshman Maggie Kowalska tallied a career-high 22 kills, 13 digs, and five assists in the win, while newcomer Brittany Fuller finished with a career-high 15 kills. Byrne also tallied 15 kills to go along with 17 digs, while junior setter Sara Budar collected 55 assists and 18 digs. Reilly had 31 digs.
Junior Nicole Ballon-Landa (La Jolla, Calif.) finished with a team-high 15 kills, while senior outside hitter Melissa Pun (San Francisco, Calif.) tallied 13 kills and 20 digs. Senior Chelsea Kubal (Atherton, Calif.) added 11 kills and a team-high 21 digs in the loss, with Avis recording 40 assists and 14 digs.
No. 24 Eastern 3, SUNY Cortland 1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18)
No. 24 Eastern University extended its win-streak to six with a 3-1 victory over SUNY Cortland. The Eagles moved to 8-1 on the year with the win, while the Red Dragons fell to 5-6 on the season. Eastern would capture the first set 25-19, but despite hitting a match-high .324 in the second set, the Eagles fell to the Red Dragons 25-19, knotting the set score at one. Eastern would then hold Cortland to a .071 hitting percentage over the final two sets to seal the victory.
Reinhold led the Eagles with 14 kills, while freshman Rachel Wenger (East Earl, Pa.) finished with 12 kills. Senior outside hitter Bridget Carey (Bel Air, Md.) totaled 10 kills in the win, while Horning added 36 assists. Sophomore libero Nikki Kummerer (Reading, Pa.) added a match-high 20 digs.
Red Dragons' freshman Katie Wick (Cortland, N.Y.) paced the Cortland attack with a team-high 12 kills and 16 digs, while Gaufman finished with 11 kills and 14 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Sheena Asibey (Brentwood, N.Y.) tallied 10 kills in the loss, with freshman setter Kristen Guerico (Smithtown, N.Y.) and freshman libero Erin Carrino (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) added a team-high 36 assists and 19 digs, respectively.
No. 24 Eastern 3, Stevens 1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-19, 25-17) – Championship Match
No. 24 Eastern University upped its win-streak to seven while snapping the Ducks' four-match win-streak with a 3-1 victory over Stevens in the 2009 Ducks Classic Championship Match. The Eagles edged out the Ducks in the first set, 25-21, while hitting a match-high .375. Stevens would counter with a 25-14 win in the second set before dropping the final two sets to Eastern, 25-19 and 25-17, respectively.
Wenger paced the Eagles offensively with 14 kills and four blocks, while Reinhold added 11 kills. Horning, named the tournament's MVP, added 34 assists and 12 digs. Carey tallied nine kills in the win.
Byrne led the Ducks with 15 digs and a match-high 15 kills, while Kowalska notched nine kills, nine digs, and three blocks in the loss. Fuller had eight kills and four blocks, while junior setter Budar collected a match-high 36 assists. Reilly added 24 digs.
Williams 3, SUNY Cortland 0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-17)
Williams upped its overall season record to 4-3 following a 3-0 sweep of SUNY Cortland in the afternoon session of the second and final day of competition at the 2009 Ducks Classic. Despite a .194 hitting percentage, the Ephs captured a 25-21 victory in the first set, before hitting a match-high .333 in the second set en route to a 25-15 win. Williams would close out SUNY Cortland with a 25-17 triumph in the third set.
Kubal tallied a match-high 11 kills and a match-high 18 digs in the win while Ballon-Landa and junior outside hitter Eleanor Levine (Atlanta, Ga.) had nine kills apiece. Senior middle blocker Whitney Hitchcock (Penfield, N.Y.) had eight kills, while freshman Mika Nakashige (Honolulu, Hawaii) and senior Andrea Scioscia (Gibsonia, Pa.) each totaled 11 digs. Avis added 33 assists and 11 digs in the win.
Gaufman paced the Red Dragons with eight kills, while Asibey and Wick tallied five kills each. Guercio finished with 22 assists, while Carrino had a team-high 17 digs.
