Press Conference

HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 16, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team had its NCAA Tournament run end in the Hoboken, N.J. Regional title match Sunday night, falling to Clarkson University, 3-1, in the Canavan Arena.
 
Stevens finishes its season with a remarkable 33-7 record and was the Hoboken, N.J. Regional runner-up. Clarkson improves to 37-3, advancing to the national quarterfinals next weekend in Newport News, Va.
 
The set scores were 28-26, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-17. Stevens' representatives on the Hoboken Regional All-Tournament Team were junior Annemarie Thomas and sophomore Mary Tobin.
 
First Set
The first set was dripping with drama and excitement as each team provided highlights and huge plays, but the Ducks ended up falling short, 28-26. Clarkson - which has now won 64-straight matches against New York Region foes - went up 4-1 early before the Ducks battled back to tie things at four following a kill from freshman Brianna Evans.

The Golden Knights came back to build three-point leads at 11-8, 16-13, 18-15 and 20-17, but the Ducks answetred, coming back to tie things at 21 with a Thomas kill. The Ducks had a chance to take a 1-0 lead following a bad set from Clarkson, but the Golden Knights remained calm and gutted out a monster first-set win.

Second Set
The Ducks jumped out to a 9-6 edge, reeling off five straight points during Tobin's serve that featured a pair of kills from Evans. The lead was short lived as Clarkson turned the tables with a 12-4 run of its own to open an 18-14 advantage, and the Ducks could get no closer than two the rest of the way en route to a 2-0 deficit.

Third Set
Stevens opened the third set on fire, taking a 10-5 edge early and holding on late. The lead swelled to six (13-7) with back-to-back kills from sophomore Christina Sciarra, and it even moved to seven (17-10) thanks to a Sciarra kill and error from CU.

Clarkson, however, made it interesting, storming back to get within two at 18-16, one at 21-20, and even at 22-all, but the Ducks closed it out with a kill from senior Katie Hall, and error from Clarkson and a kill from Sciarra to make it a 2-1 match.

Fourth Set
In the fourth, the Ducks ran out of steam as Clarkson jumped out to an 8-4 margin. Stevens made it 8-6, but every time it looked like the Ducks would get closer, the Golden Knights came up with a big play, eventually winning the set 25-17 and the match, 3-1.

Thomas, Tobin and Sciarra all had six kills, while Evans and Hall and five apiece. The Ducks hit .061 as a team, with senior setter Ashley Castillo notching 25 kills. Freshman Sydnie Horner had a team-high 24 kills, while Tobin and Evans each were in double figures. Evans had three block solos and Thomas had eight block assists.

Aishvina Arasu led Clarkson with 14 kills, and Kirstie Shuria and Adrienne Walker earned All-Tournament Team honors.

Check www.StevensDucks.com throughout the week for pictures, video and more from the weekend.

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