HUNTINGDON, Pa. (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to No. 5 Juniata College and the University of Mary Washington on Friday.
 
No. 5 Juniata 3, Stevens 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-16)
In set one, the Ducks got behind early and were unable to keep pace with the Eagles offense. After trimming the deficit to 20-16, the hosts rolled off the next five of the six points to claim the opening set.
 
During the second stanza, Stevens (4-3) jumped out to an early 8-6 lead capped off by a kill from junior Mary Tobin. A mid-set 7-1 run by Juniata gave them a commanding 20-14 lead but the Ducks countered with two of the next three. The momentum was short lived, as the Eagles closed out set two with a 4-0 rally.
 
In the final set, the visitors took a brief lead, only to see it disappear thanks to a 4-0 run to make it 8-5 Juniata. They would get no closer than two points over the remainder of the set, and dropped the match three sets to zero.
 
Junior Christina Sciarra led the way with 12 kills while sophomore Sydni Horner and freshman Emily Piekarski had 11 and 10 digs respectively.
 
Juniata got 14 kills from Megan Moroney and 10 from Mar-Jana Phillips, while Kelly Reynolds handed out 40 assists.
 
Mary Washington 3, Stevens 1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Stevens dropped the first five points of the opening set to Mary Washington, but rallied all the way back to trim the deficit down to 17-16 thanks to a trio of unforced errors and a kill by senior Annemarie Thomas. The Eagles responded with a 4-0 run to jump back up five, and ended the set with thanks to an attack error.
 
The Ducks claimed their first set win of the tournament, using a series of runs to keep the Eagles down and out. With Stevens leading by one point late in the set, Tobin smashed a kill from Shelton and after a Horner serve, an unforced error knotted the match at one set apiece.
 
Stevens used that momentum to catapult to a 7-3 lead in the third period, as sophomore Brianna Evans recorded a pair of service aces and Tobin had a solo block and a kill. Mary Washington went back on the offensive, scoring six of the next eight points. The battle went back and forth, but after a tie at 22, the Eagles took advantage of two attack errors to claim the third set.
 
The sides traded the first 26 points of the fourth set before Stevens used a 6-0 spurt to go up 18-13. It was the Eagles who were able to roll off seven of the next nine, before Evans added a kill to stop the rally. Mary Washington was too much for Stevens to handle, as they took home the 3-1 set win behind a kill from Dani Fiore.
 
Tobin finished with 16 kills and Shelton posted a double-double of 27 assists and 12 digs. Horner posted 21 digs with Sciarra notching seven kills and three service aces.
Clarkson University and the University of Mount Union are the final two opponents for the Ducks this weekend, beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday.
           
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