ROCHESTER, N.Y. (OCTOBER 30, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team topped the University of Rochester and Rowan University Friday.
 
The Ducks improved to 19-11, while Rochester fell to 14-14 and Rowan dropped to 11-19.
 
Stevens 3, Rochester1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21)
Stevens outhit Rochester .184-.088, including a .225-.021 edge in the opening frame. The Ducks never trailed in the first set, and used a mid-set 8-0 run to pull away. With Stevens up 18-14 in the second period, the Yellowjackets tallied five straight to go up 19-18. After a kill from freshman Emily Ferguson tied the set at 19, Rochester closed out on a 6-1 run to even the match at one each.
 
The Ducks once again never trailed in the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, capped off by an ace from sophomore Brianna Evans. After a Duck service error brought U of R to 11-6, the Ducks rolled off five straight, with Evans recording two kills and forcing the opponents into a timeout. Evans would cap off the set with a kill to put the Ducks up two sets to one.
 
A back and forth fourth set saw Rochester go up 14-11, but the Ducks notched five of the next seven to knot the set at 16. The Yellowjackets trimmed the deficit down to 23-21, and after a Ducks timeout, junior Mary Tobin registered a kill and classmate Christina Sciarra ended the match with an ace.
 
Tobin finished with 20 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore Sydni Horner notched a season-high 30 digs. Evans had also recorded a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs to go along with three aces.
 
Jennie Ford led the Yellowjackets with 14 kills, while Aimee Kohler handed out 32 assists.
 
Stevens 3, Rowan 0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-22)
The Ducks dominated their in-state rival at the net, forcing 20 attack errors and holding Rowan to a .124 hitting percentage. Stevens hit .278 in the match, including a whopping .400 in the middle set. Stevens tallied 10 of the opening 11 markers in the first set, and Rowan was unable to catch up. The Profs cut the deficit to six at 15-9, but the Ducks closed out the frame by tallying 10 of the final 13.
 
Sciarra moved the Ducks to a 7-2 lead in the middle period, thanks to a pair of kills from senior Annemarie Thomas. Rowan did not go away, even knotting the set at 22 all. A big solo block from Thomas put the Ducks into set point, and after a Prof serving error, Stevens was able to claim the second set.
 
After Stevens went ahead 7-5 in the final stanza, the Profs went on an 8-1 run, forcing the Ducks into taking their first timeout. Freshman Emily Piekarski knotted the period at 16 thanks to a service ace, but the Profs hung tough and tied the set at 21 thanks to an unforced error. Stevens closed the match out on a 4-1 run, with Sciarra tallying a pair of aces and Tobin ending the match with a kill.
 
Thomas recorded a season-high nine kills while hitting a staggering .615. Tobin added 13 additional kills to go along with a pair of service aces and block assists, while Horner recorded 19 digs. Sciarra recorded 10 kills and a season-best six service aces.
Mary-Grace Testa handed out 19 assists, while Danielle Havilcek and Maggie Catherina had seven kills in the defeat.
 
The Ducks are back in action for day two of the NYS Regional Challenge, taking on the Rochester Institute of Technology at 12:30 p.m. and SUNY-Fredonia at 4:30.
 
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