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ELMIRA, N.Y. (October 5, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept Elmira College and Alfred University on Saturday afternoon in Elmira's Speidel Gymnasium to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament on November 9 and 10. With the pair of victories, Stevens is now 19-4 overall and 6-0 in the Empire 8 with one more match remaining on the conference slate.

Stevens 3, Elmira 0

The Ducks earned the straight-sets victory, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14, with a .236 team hitting percentage and seven service aces. Stevens hit below the match percentage in sets one and two, .195 and .169, but figured things out in the final set, hitting .423 with no errors on 11 kills in 26 attempts.

Freshman Mary Tobin (Boothwyn, Pa.) played a superb match with 14 kills and no errors. Tobin hit at a .368 clip to go along with 12 digs. Senior Samantha Gates (Wilmington, N.C.) dished out 31 assists and added 13 digs, three service aces and two blocks.

Two other Ducks, junior Katie Hall (Midlothian, Va.) and freshman Christina Sciarra (Montclair, N.J.) also completed the match with no hitting errors. Hall chipped in four kills with an ace, while Sciarra added seven more and two assists.

Junior Kirsten Salmins (Wyckoff, N.J.) anchored the back row with 27 digs which matches a season-high. Sophomore Annemarie Thomas (Durham, N.C.) posted a match-high three solo blocks and added four kills.

Senior Mary Caulson (West Islip, N.Y.) rounded out the morning showdown with six kills and four digs.

Stevens 3, Alfred 0

Stevens took care of Alfred in the final contest of the crossover, 25-9, 25-21, 25-18. The Ducks hit .321 in the finale with 33 kills and just six errors on 84 attempts. Stevens also picked up five solo blocks and four block assists against the Saxons.

Tobin was the lone Duck to reach double-digit kills with 10 on 24 swings. On the day, Tobin did not make a single attach error and hit .417 against Alfred.

Gates added 12 more assists before being replaced by junior Ashley Castillo (Cresskill, N.J.), who notched 13 assists. Shelton also handed out five helpers with a team-high-tying seven digs, as did Castillo.

Sophomore Kristen Herchenroder (Breezy Point, N.Y.) added seven digs to go along with two kills, while Hall and Sciarra each picked up five kills. Hall was a perfect 5-for-5 in the match.

Thomas posted four more kills and four block assists, while freshmen Becca Youngman (Rochester, N.Y.) and Gina Salmins (Wyckoff, N.J.) chipped in five and four digs, respectively.

The Ducks will play Hartwick College and Houghton College on October 12 in Houghton, N.Y. for the final regular season Empire 8 matches. The contest against Houghton does not count towards conference standings since the Highlanders are still a provisional member of the NCAA.


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