HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 17, 2011) – On Saturday, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team played to another split in two matches, with a sweep of Franklin College in the Ducks first match, but was swept by Elmira College on the final day of the Ducks Classic in Canavan Arena.

In the sweep of the Grizzlies, 25-20, 25-16, 25-19, sophomore Chrissy Dickinson hit an impressive .611, tallying 11 kills in 18 attempts. Dickinson also recorded two blocks in the victory.

Junior Maggie Kowalska put together a near equal performance, registering 12 kills in 21 attempts for a hitting percentage of .524. Kowalska contributed four assists, three aces and three digs to the match.

Ducks senior Kate Janes posted seven kills in the match, to go along with two digs and two blocks. The two setters for the Ducks combined for 38 assists. Sophomore Samantha Gates totaled 25, while senior Andrea Bucko handed out 13. Gates also made five digs, while Bucko had two. Both players also posted an ace in the sweep.

Another sophomore, Mary Caulson led the Ducks with 15 digs. Caulson was also a force at the net, tallying six kills and two blocks.

The Ducks barely trailed throughout the first two sets, only going down by one point on two separate occasions. In the third set, Stevens faced its largest deficit of the match, 9-4, but after a Franklin service error, momentum swung back to the Ducks as they brought the match back to a stalemate in score at 12. From there, both teams traded points up until Caulson broke a 17-17 tie with a kill. The Ducks never gave up the lead from there on out.

In a preview match of Empire 8 crossover play, Elmira proved to be the better team this time, winning all three sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21. Dickinson once again proved to be a threat in the front line, tallying seven kills and three blocks en route to being named to the All-Tournament Team.

Kowalska and Janes recorded seven and five kills, respectively, while Kowalska registered seven digs and Janes blocked three Elmira kill attempts.

Gates paced the squad with 25 assists to go along with five digs. Caulson led the Ducks with eight digs and chipped in three kills.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle between conference rivals, as the set was within two points up until the Soaring Eagles took a 16-13 advantage after a Stevens service error. The set remained within striking distance for the Ducks after an ace by Gates, but Elmira struck back with three consecutive kills to increase its lead to 20-15 and eventually take the first set.

Stevens seemed to be overmatched in set two, as the Ducks fell into an 11-point deficit, 21-10. The team would not go down without a fight, as they brought the contest all the way back to 24-20 after a Kowalska kill, but the very next point and second set went to the Soaring Eagles.

The final set was another battle for both sides. Just like the first set, both teams traded points until the Ducks built an 11-6 advantage. Elmira fought back to within one, 13-12, and then tied the game on a kill. After the 13-13 deadlock, Stevens held the lead up until the Eagles knotted it back up at 18 and never surrendered the lead after that, taking the set, 25-21.

FDU is the 2011 Ducks Classic champion, going a perfect 4-0 over the two days. Elmira was nearly unblemished at 3-1. Stevens and Oneonta were each 2-2, with the tie-breaker going to the Ducks with a head-to-head victory. Franklin posted a 1-3 mark, while Newbury was 0-4.

Elmira's Sasha Zavadska (Bratislava, Slovakia) was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. FDU landed three players on the team in way of Momi Mariani (Kaneoue, Hawaii), Nicole Weissert (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Marta Matera (East Brunswick, N.J.). Dickinson was the Stevens representative, while Oneonta's Christina Fabiochi (Manorville, N.Y.) rounded out the All-Tournament Team.

Stevens will be back in action next weekend for the first round of Empire 8 crossover play hosted by Elmira on September 24-25. The Ducks will take on Utica College at 12:30 p.m. and then tangle with St. John Fisher College at 5:30 p.m.