Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 29, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team split a pair of five-set matches on the final day of the Ducks Invitational on Sunday in Canavan Arena. Stevens dropped a heartbreaker to Baruch College in the opener but bounced back to top Empire 8 Conference rival Elmira College in the second match. The Ducks are now 7-12 on the season and have won six of their last eight games.

Match One: Baruch 3, Stevens 2

In the tough five-set defeat to the Bearcats, 12-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-13, senior opposite hitter Maggie Kowalska (Edison, N.J.) put together a superb effort with 24 kills in 43 attempts and just six errors for a .419 hitting percentage. Kowalska also recorded eight digs and three total blocks in the opener as she was named to the All-Tournament team.

Junior setter Samantha Gates (Wilmington, N.C.) also posted a career day with 62 assists to lead all players. Gates tallied eight digs and six service aces to also find a spot on the All-Tournament team.

Two other Ducks registered double-digits kills against Baruch. Junior outside hitter Mary Caulson (West Islip, N.Y.) tallied 17 kills and hit at a .378 clip, while sophomore middle hitter Katie Hall (Midlothian, Va.) chipped in 10 more and hit .278. Caulson also added 10 digs.

Defensively, junior Hannah Gasper (Bourne, Mass.) and sophomore Kirsten Salmins (Wyckoff, N.J.) each gathered 11 digs in the loss.

As a team, Stevens hit a season best .306 in the match and an unheard of .632 in the first set.

Match Two: Stevens 3, Elmira 2

The Ducks picked up a non-conference victory over E8 foe Elmira in the second match, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 14-25, 15-9, to round out the weekend. Kowalska paced Stevens with 17 kills, 10 digs and six total blocks, while Gates distributed 41 assists.

Hall tallied nine kills, and Gasper chipped in nine digs.

Senior middle hitter Jillian Barrett (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted five kills and four blocks, while Caulson finished up her weekend with six kills and five digs.

Richard Stockton College won the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. Baruch and Stevens each finished 3-1, with the Bearcats prevailing in second with the head-to-head victory. The United State Coast Guard Academy went 2-2, while Elmira and NYU-Poly were each 0-4.

Stockton's Kasey Hennecke earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player voted upon by the coaches.

The Ducks will be back in action on Wednesday, October 3 at Vassar College for a 7 p.m. start.