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Empire 8 Tournament Page

HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 5, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team earned a split on the first day of the second Empire 8 Conference Crossover of the 2012 season at Canavan Arena on Friday evening. Steven lost to Elmira College in five sets, its fourth five-set match in the last six contests, and swept Alfred University in the nightcap. The Ducks are now 8-14 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8.

Match One: Elmira 3, Stevens 2

In the second consecutive five-set match with the Soaring Eagles, 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-25, 15-10, senior opposite hitter Maggie Kowalska (Edison, N.J.) became the school's all-time leader in total blocks with four in the match to give her 392 for her career. Kowalska led all players in the five-setter with 22 kills and 16 digs. She hit for a .289 percentage in 45 attempts.

Junior setter Samantha Gates (Wilmington, N.C.) handed out 41 assists to mark the fourth time in the past six matches in which she eclipsed 40-plus assists in a match. Gates also chipped in eight digs, a match-high five service aces and four blocks.

Fellow junior outside hitter Mary Caulson (West Islip, N.Y.) registered 10 digs to go along with eight kills, while freshman outside hitter Annemarie Thomas (Durham, N.C.) nearly recorded the same stat line with 10 digs and seven kills.

Also in the match, middle hitters senior Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Katie Hall (Midlothian, Va.) combined for 12 kills and eight blocks. Barrett recorded five kills to go along with four blocks, while Hall added seven kills and four more blocks.

Defensively, junior libero Hannah Gasper (Bourne, Mass.) posted eight digs.

The Ducks led in the fifth set, 5-3, but Elmira ran off eight-straight points to eventually win the match. Stevens won the previous showdown last Saturday in five-sets in a non-conference match.

Match Two: Stevens 3, Alfred 0

The Ducks took just over an hour to hand the Saxons a loss in straight sets, 25-15, 25-14, 25-12, while Barrett paced all players with 11 kills and an impressive .556 hitting percentage. She also made four blocks in the match.

Thomas also recorded double-digit kills with 10, while Kowalska added seven more to go along with 10 digs and three aces.

Gates once again led Stevens in assists with 33 and chipped in four digs. Caulson put together a strong effort with six kills, six digs and five aces, while Gasper totaled 16 digs in the victory.

Sophomore defensive specialist Kirsten Salmins (Wyckoff, N.J.) added six digs in the night cap.

The Ducks will be back in Canavan at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow to close out the crossover against Houghton. The Highlanders won both of their matches on Friday against Ithaca College and Hartwick College, and bring a 12-6 overall mark into tomorrow's showdown.

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