Kowalska Keys Women's Volleyball Sweeps Of Union, Williams

10/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 1, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team opened up the 2010 Ducks Invitational with pair of wins over Union College and Williams College to move to 14-4 overall on the season. The Ducks began the afternoon with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 26-24) sweep of the visiting Dutchwomen, before ousting the Ephs (25-19, 25-16, 25-22). Stevens will resume play at the 2010 Ducks Invitational on Saturday, October 2 against SUNY New Paltz and Clarkson University.

Sophomore Maggie Kowalska  notched 28 kills and four blocks to lead the Ducks to a pair of victories, while senior outside hitter Maggie Majcher tallied 20 kills and 22 digs in Stevens' two matches. Fellow senior Sara Budar dished out 65 assists on the day, while senior libero Julia Reilly had 19 digs.

Stevens 3, Union 0 (27-25, 25-20, 26-24)
Stevens edged out Union with a hard-fought 27-25 first-set victory, notching a .297 hitting percentage, before taking a 2-0 match lead with a 25-20 win in the second set. The Ducks closed out the closely-contested match with a 26-24 win in the third and final set.

Kowalska led Stevens with 15 kills and a .609 attack percentage, while Majcher added 12 kills and 13 digs. Reilly added 14 digs in defense, while Budar handed out 32 assists. Junior Amethyst Holder finished with seven kills and eight digs.

New Paltz 3, Baruch 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22)
New Paltz took control of the match in the early going, capturing a 25-17 first-set victory before notching a 25-18 win in the second set. The Hawks closed out the match with a closely contested, 25-22, triumph in the third set. New Paltz sophomores Michelle Jacobson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) and Dana Vosilla (Massapeaqua Park, N.Y.) each recorded nine kills in the Hawks' win, while freshman setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y.) dished out 18 assists to go along with three kills and three digs.

Senior middle Christina Pierre (Bronx, N.Y.) paved the way for the Bearcat attack, tallying 11 kills and three blocks, while freshman outside hitter Rebecca Peralta (Bronx, N.Y.) had four kills and a dig. Junior libero Posey Wilson (Fayetteville, Ark.) had 23 digs in the loss.

Polytechnic 3, Montclair State 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16)
Polytechnic notched a hard-fought, 25-22, first-set victory, before tallying a 25-20 second set win. The Blue Jays would then close out the match with a 25-16 triumph in the third and final set to complete the sweep.

Freshman outside hitter Marta Topor (Bogota, N.J.) led the Red Hawks with nine kills and four digs, while sophomore Alyssa Batiste (Manahawkin, N.J.) had eight assists, six kills, and four digs. Freshman Kaitlyn Irwin (Cranford, N.J.) shored up the Montclair State defense with 14 digs.

Stevens 3, Williams 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22)
Stevens opened up the match with a 25-19 first set victory before hitting .484 en route to a 25-16 triumph in the second set. The Ducks would close out the match with a 25-22 win in the third and final set, finishing the frame with a .308 attack percentage.

Kowalska again led the way, hitting.474 on the match with 13 kills, while sophomore Michelle Plotzker had eight kills, while hitting .400. Majcher also finished with eight kills, adding nine digs, while Budar dished out 33 assists. Freshman Chrissy Dickinson added nine kills and six block assists.

Freshman middle blocker Emily Doll (Villa Park, Calif.) led the Ephs with a team-best 10 kills, while senior Kate Anderson (Berlin, Mass.) had seven kills and a dig. Senior setter Emily Avis (Palo Alto, Calif.) added 21 assists and six digs in the loss.

Clarkson 3, Polytechnic 0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-16)
Clarkson notched a 25-10 first set victory before winning both sets two and three by a score of 25-16. Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Haines (Crestview, Fla.) and junior Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, N.Y.) each notched 12 kills for the Golden Knights, while adding 15 and 23 assists, respectively. Freshman setter Lani Durio (Austin, Texas) also dished out 23 helpers in the win.

New Paltz 3, MIT 2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-5, 15-7)
Down 2-0 after dropping the both of the first two sets, 25-21, New Paltz slowly climbed back into it, notching a 25-23 third set victory before tying things up with a decisive 25-5 fourth set win. The surging Hawks would then ride their momentum to a 15-7 fifth set tiebreak victory.

Freshman setter Sharon Hao (San Jose, Calif.) had 31 assists directing the MIT attack, while sophomore outside hitter Trinity Leonard (Mill Valley, Calif.) had 13 kills. Sophomore libero Katie Spielbauer (Lakeview, Mich.) added 20 digs in the loss.

Clarkson 3, MIT 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-12)
Clarkson cruised to a 3-0 win notching a hard-fought 26-24 first set victory before taking the second set, 25-16, to go up 2-0. The Golden Knights then captured the third set, 25-12, to complete the sweep.

Junior Kelly Schulte (Riverside, Calif.) had eight kills to lead MIT, while Hao finished with 21 assists. Spielbauer added eight digs in defense.

Williams 3, Montclair State 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-14)
Hoping to rebound from a loss to Stevens earlier in the day, Williams captured the first set, 25-18, before taking the second frame, 25-12. The Ephs then completed the sweep with a 25-14 triumph in set three.

Senior middle Nicole Ballon-Landa (La Jolla, Calif.) led Williams with nine kills and two digs, while Doll finished with eight kills, three digs, and two blocks. Avis chipped in with a team-high 40 assists and three digs.

Union 3, Baruch 1 (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22)
Union took the first set 25-17 before recording a 25-19 set two victory to take a 2-0 match lead. Hoping to stave off elimination, Baruch responded with a 25-22 third set win, but the Dutchwomen rallied, notching a 25-22 triumph in the fourth and final set to close out the match.

Sophomore middle Lauren Hayden (Parker, Colo.) had 11 kills seven digs, and four blocks for Baruch in the loss, while sophomore setter Melinda Santiago (East Patchogue, N.Y.) had 27 assists and 15 digs. Pierre finished with eight kills and a pair of blocks.
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