ROCHESTER, N.Y. (OCTOBER 31, 2015) – Sophomore Sydni Horner was named Tournament Most Valuable Player of the NYS Regional Challenge as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team won two more matches Saturday.
                                        
The Ducks topped the Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY-Fredonia in straight, moving to 21-11 and claiming their eighth victory in a row.
 
Stevens 3, RIT 0 (25-23, 25-15, 27-25)
Stevens was outhit in the match .171-.152, but held a .241-.094 edge in the second frame. RIT used a 6-1 run in the opening period to go ahead 15-7. The Ducks battled all the way back and tied the set at 22. After a Tiger kill, Stevens tallied the final three points, capped off by a kill from junior Christina Sciarra.
 
The Ducks controlled the second set from the get-go, grabbing eight of the first 10 markers. Stevens continued the attack, with junior Mary Tobin collecting a pair of kills during a mid-set 6-2 spurt. RIT closed to within eight points, but a block error and an ace by senior Catie Shelton put Stevens up two sets.
 
After Stevens took an early 7-4 edge in the final period, RIT came back with six straight to overtake the lead. The Ducks notched the next four, but the Tigers rallied with four consecutive. A kill by freshman Emily Ferguson brought up match point, but RIT countered with four straight to bring up their own set point. After an unforced error, Shelton delivered an ace and a big double block by sophomore Mckenzie Kingsbury and Ferguson gave the match to Stevens.
 
Horner tallied 20 digs, while Tobin led the way with 12 kills and six digs. Sarah Zybist led RIT with 17 kills.
 
Stevens 3, Fredonia 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22)
A back and forth opening set saw it tied at 13, 14 and 15 before the Ducks went on a 5-0 tear to go ahead 20-15. After Fredonia countered with five straight of their own, Stevens capped off the set with a 5-1 run, with Tobin ending the set with a kill.
 
The Ducks went up 11-5 in the second period, before the Blue Devils scored seven unanswered, forcing Stevens into a timeout. Stevens battled back and grabbed control at 22-17 thanks to a kill from Kingsbury. After Fredonia forced a sideout, the Ducks scored the final three, with Tobin notching back-to-back kills to end the set.
 
Stevens jumped ahead 17-7 in the third set, thanks in part to a huge 8-1 run, finished off with back-to-back service aces by Ferguson. Fredonia was able to battle back and cut the deficit down to a single point thanks to a ball handling error, but the Ducks quickly brought up match point with Sciarra notching two kills in a row. The match was capped off by a Blue Devils service error, and the Ducks clinched a perfect weekend at the NYS Regional Challenge.
 
Horner collected 24 digs, while both Tobin and Ferguson were in double-digit digs. Tobin led the way with 14 kills, while senior Annemarie Thomas finished with six kills and two total blocks. Kelly Edinger handed out 23 assists for the Blue Devils. For her efforts, Tobin was named to All-Tournament team with Horner.
 
The Ducks will be hosting the Empire 8 Conference Championship next weekend, and will be taking on No. 4 seeded Elmira College at 12 p.m. Saturday.

Photo C/O Ward Horner.
 
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