ALFRED, N.Y. (October 22, 2016) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team clinched the No. 1 seed in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament in two weeks with wins over St. John Fisher and Alfred.

The Ducks move to 27-4, and finish 8-0 in the Empire 8.

STEVENS 3, FISHER 0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-22)
The Ducks committed no attack errors in the first two sets, and despite getting out-hit .100-.059 in the third set, rolled to a straight set victory over the Cardinals. Stevens scored six of the first seven points in the opening frame, and as Fisher closed to within 15-13, senior Mary Tobin ended the comeback hopes. Tobin slammed home a kill, before stepping up to the service line for an ace to double the lead. Fisher got no closer than three the rest of the way, and a set clinching 6-1 spurt ended the period.

The Ducks never trailed in the second, recording 10 of the opening 13 markers. The Cardinals barely threatened, and senior Becca Youngman anchored a 4-0 run to push the lead to double-digits. Tobin ended the period with a kill from sophomore Brianna Perez, putting the Ducks up two.

The Cardinals jumped out to 12-9 lead in set three, and were hoping to take a set off Stevens. A Duck error put them in an 18-15 hole but a 6-0 run led to a three point lead for the visitors. Freshman Shelby Stewart notched a pair of double blocks to aid the rally. Fisher crawled back to 24-22, but the Ducks took a timeout. The timeout paid off, as Tobin pounded home a match-ending kill.

Tobin had a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs, while Perez handed out 25 assists. Stewart had four total blocks, while classmate Casey King had six kills and 13 digs.

STEVENS 3, ALFRED 0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-21)
Stevens dominated every offensive category, including kills (42-23), aces (6-5), and assist (39-23). The Ducks never trailed in either of the opening two sets, and used 25 kills and only six errors to jump ahead 2-0 in the match. The Saxons were limited to a .033 and .069 hitting percentage over the first two stanzas.

Stewart hit .875 with seven kills on eight swings, while classmate Sara Hain chipped in seven kills. Junior Sydni Horner led the way with 17 digs, with King going for 14 kills and five digs while hitting a blistering .619.

The Ducks will be back in action at the NY Regional Challenge, hosted by NYU next Friday and Saturday.

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