Holder, Majcher Pace Ducks Offense But Women's Volleyball Falls To NYU In NCAA New York Regional Final

11/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 12, 2010) – Despite a combined 22 kills from senior Maggie Majcher and junior Amethyst Holder, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell to host New York University, 3-2 (25-12, 23-25, 25-10, 22-25, 15-9), in an NCAA Tournament Regional Final match-up at the Coles Sports Center in New York, N.Y. The Ducks wrap up the season with a 34-6 overall mark, while the Violets advance to the national quarterfinals with a 38-5 record.

Holder and Majcher, who were each named to the Region's All-Tournament team for their efforts, added eight and six digs, respectively, while sophomore Maggie Kowalska notched nine kills and five digs. Freshman Chrissy Dickinson and Michelle Plotzker had seven and six spikes, respectively, with the duo also combining for five blocks. Senior libero Julia Reilly collected a team-high 14 digs in defense, while fellow senior Sara Budar dished out 36 assists in the loss.

Sophomore middle blocker Kendyl Dunn (Austin, Texas) led the Violets with a match-high 19 kills, while fellow sophomore Sally Downs (Coppell,Texas) added 12 kills and four digs. Junior Beth Fionda (Austin, Texas) and freshman outside hitter Erin McLaughlin (Mountain View, Calif.) had nine and eight kills, respectively, while Alexis Schwartz (Hillsborough, Calif.) had a team-high 14 digs. Junior setter Mina Baban (Westborough, Mass.) finished with a match-best 48 helpers.

Up 5-3 in the first set, Dunn notched a kill to kick-start a 7-1 Violets run. A Holder kill coupled with a NYU error pulled the Ducks within six at 12-6, but a 9-2 run, spurred by a Downs kill increased the Violets lead to 13. The Ducks would pull within 10 at 22-11 after a Kowalska spike and back-to-back Holder kills, but NYU would outscore their Stevens counterparts 3-1 down the stretch to seal a 25-12 first set win and a 1-0 match advantage.

Looking to knot things up, Stevens raced to a 6-1 lead in the second set capped off by another Holder kill. NYU would respond by notched three of the frame's next four points to trim the margin to three. Still down three at 13-10, the Violets mounted a 7-3 run, taking a two-point edge after a pair of Hope Bogle (Pasadena, Calif.) service aces. Finding themselves down five at 21-16, Stevens rallied, netted seven of the set's next nine points, tying it at 23 on a Reilly ace. From there the Ducks would take advantage of a pair of NYU errors to take set two, 25-23.

Hoping to capture a 2-1 match edge, NYU raced out to an early 8-2 lead in the third set. The Ducks would pare the deficit to five at 12-7, but a decisive 11-2 run – capped off by a Dunn spike – gave the Violets a commanding 14-point margin. Dickinson momentarily cut the lead to 13 with a kill, but the Violets would tally the set's final two points on a Ducks' error and a McLaughlin ace to take the third set, 25-10.

Trying to put Stevens away, NYU took a 5-2 lead on a Fionda kill early in the fourth frame, but a resilient Ducks squad responded with a 6-2 rally, going back on top on a Dickinson spike. Stevens would later stretch the lead to three on a Plotzker ace that made it 14-11 before a 4-1 NYU run knotted the set at 15. Holder and Dickinson answered by tallying back-to-back kills pushing the lead to 19-15, but a 5-1 Violets run once again knotted the set at 20. Undeterred, Stevens rallied, scoring five of the set's final seven points, securing a 25-22 win on a Plotzker spike.

NYU raced out to an eight-point lead in the fifth and final set, going up 11-3 on a on a Dunn kill. Trying to stay alive, Stevens trimmed the lead to five at 14-9 on a Kowalska kill and a Violets' attack error, but Fionda would seal the match with her ninth kill of the afternoon, punching the Violets' ticket to the national quarterfinal.
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