HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 23, 2016) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball picked up a pair of Empire 8 Conference wins over Ithaca and Nazareth Saturday. 

The Ducks extended its winning streak to 12, moving to 15-1 on the season.

STEVENS 3, NAZARETH 0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-15)
The Ducks never trailed in the opening set, using a 6-1 spurt to open up a 13-6 edge. After Naz got within six, freshman Casey King started a 5-0 run to extend the lead to double digits. The visitors tallied five in a row to get back to being down only seven, however five of the final six markers went in favor of Stevens to hand the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

A kill by Naz brought them to 8-5 in the beginning of the second stanza, but a mid-match 9-1 spurt by the hosts extended the gap to 13. Highlights included a double-block by King and classmate Shelby Stewart and a thunderous kill by senior Christina Sciarra. Sciarra and freshman Sara Hain teamed up for double-stuff to bring up set point, and the senior slammed the next point for a kill and gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

The Golden Flyers held a lead for half of the final frame, but after a kill by senior Mary Tobin, the period was tied at 11. Stevens would pull ahead for good with sophomore Brianna Perez on the service line. Perez served up the final 11 points, including a pair of aces to complete the sweep.

Tobin led the way with 12 kills and seven digs while junior Sydni Horner was tops with 14 digs. King finished with nine kills and three blocks with Stewart pounding home seven kills and five total blocks.

STEVENS 3, ITHACA 0 (30-28, 25-23, 25-18)
The Ducks raced out of the gates scoring six of the first seven before Ithaca called a timeout. The Bombers got to even and used a 4-0 run to push ahead. The visitors were able to keep Stevens behind by at least a point before back to back unforced errors tied everything at 21. The teams traded the next four tallies before a Bomber double block brought up set point. 

Stevens scored four of the next six to force their own set point, but were unable to capitalize. A kill by King and a poor IC set ended the marathon period, putting Stevens up 1-0. Neither team hit very well, combining for 17 errors in the set.

A Katie Evans kill gave the Bombers an early 5-4 lead in set two, but Tobin served up seven straight, the rally capped off with consecutive kills from King. Ithaca scored five straight of their own Stevens called a timeout. The timeout paid off, as six of the next markers fell in Stevens favor, forcing set point. The Bombers fended off seven straight set points before Perez dumped a second ball over to end the frame.

An Evans kill cut the final set gap to one at 12-11, but Sciarra used a kill to propel a 4-0 rally capped off with a double-block from Stewart and Tobin. Ithaca could get no closer than three, and a 6-1 run at the end of the set was ended by a match-clinching kill by King.

King led the way with 13 kills and 17 digs to go along with six blocks, while freshman Sara Hain had seven kills and six total blocks. Stewart had five kills and five rejections, with Perez dishing out 31 helpers.

The Ducks will be off until Friday when they compete at the Utica College tournament, playing four matches over two nights.
    
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