Women's Volleyball Splits on First Day of Ducks Classic

9/16/2011 12:00:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 16, 2011) – On the first day of the 2011 Stevens Ducks Classic in Canavan Arena on Friday, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team beat SUNY Oneonta, 3-0, in the first match. The Ducks then dropped a straight-sets match to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham, 3-0. Stevens is back on the court tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
In the first match sweep against Oneonta, 26-24, 25-18, 25-19, the Ducks trailed, 15-11, but after a timeout by head coach JJ O'Connell, Stevens went on a 5-0 run and forced the Red Dragons to burn a timeout to re-group.

The strategy seemed to pay off for Oneonta, as it regained the lead and went up 23-18, but the Ducks fought back with strong front-line play to push the first set to extra points and win, 26-24.

In the second set, Stevens only trailed after the first point and built up a lead of 7-3 off a kill by junior Maggie Kowalska. The Ducks maintained their lead up to 13-8, but another timeout by the Red Dragons brought life back to the team for a short period of time. Oneonta brought the game to within one point, 13-12, but Stevens went on a 6-2 run to put the set out of reach and eventually win, 25-18. Stevens registered three of its final four points on kills by Kowalska and sophomore Mary Caulson.

In a back-and-fourth final set which witnessed six different lead changes and six ties, neither team could build a lead of more than two points until Stevens went up, 18-15, on an ace by Caulson. Oneonta brought it back to one point, 18-17, but the Ducks proved to be too tough and finished the set on a 7-2 run to end the match.

Kowalska finished the match with 16 kills, five digs and two aces. Caulson chipped in seven kills, three digs and two aces.

Sophomore Samantha Gates led all players with 35 assists and paced the Ducks with six digs.

Three other Ducks turned in solid efforts in the sweep. Senior Kate Janes, sophomore Chrissy Dickinson and freshman Katie Hall combined for 16 kills. Dickinson posted six to go along with a block and ace, Janes recorded five and two digs, while Hall tallied three and an ace in just one set.

In the night cap against FDU, the Ducks began in a 3-0 hole in the first set, but strung together five straight points to take a 5-3 lead and force a Devils timeout. FDU responded with four straight of its own to re-take the lead at 7-5, but a kill by Kowalska and two consecutive aces by sophomore Hannah Gasper (Bourne, Mass.) brought the lead back to the Ducks at 8-7.

The teams traded points for the next couple volleys (11-9 Stevens) until FDU tied the set back up at 12 and went on a 6-2 run (18-14). The Devils would go on to increase their lead by one more point, 20-15, before Stevens tried to make a late run. It was for not, as FDU won the first set, 25-20.

The second set started much like the first, as both teams traded serves over the first 15 points (8-7 Stevens). From there, the Ducks put together four straight points (12-7) and had an 18-15 lead. After a timeout, FDU scored six of the next seven points to regain the set at 21-19. FDU would go on to win the set, 27-25, but after the 21-19 advantage, the score was knotted on five separate occasions.

In the final set, Stevens seemed to be over matched for the first half of the set, as the team found themselves down quickly, 17-6. After a kill by Hall to make the set, 17-7, the Ducks brought the game all the way back to 24-20, highlighted by two kills and a block by Dickinson.

The late run by the Ducks seemed to happen too little, too late, as they surrendered the next point and dropped the match.

Kowalska and Dickinson led the team with nine kills apiece. Kowalska controlled the net with five blocks, while Dickinson added four.

Gates once again was the main distributor with 26 assists. She also chipped in six digs. Gasper was the biggest threat serving for the Ducks with four aces, and Caulson posted eight digs in the setback.

As the six-team tournament returns to action tomorrow morning, Elmira College and FDU both sit at 2-0 after the first day. Stevens and Franklin College are each 1-1, while Oneonta and Newbury College are 0-2.

The Ducks play Franklin at 10 a.m. tomorrow then take on Elmira at 2 p.m.
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