HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 13, 2017) – Sophomore
Casey King totaled 22 kills over two matches to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball to a split on the opening day of the 2017 Stevens Invitational.
In the opener, King led all players with 13 kills and classmate
Taleen Mitchell added 11 as the Ducks fell to Stockton University 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19).
In the nightcap, King and fellow sophomore
Shelby Stewart tallied nine kills each as the Ducks swept the United States Coast Guard Academy (25-16, 25-17, 25-16).
Stevens closed play with an 18-6 record.
Stephanie Kovacs and Sarah Walsh each had 10 kills for Stockton, who dropped a thrilling five-set match to Union College, to finish the day at 15-8.
Alexi Deane had nine kills for the Bears, who bested Montclair State earlier in the day to close at 13-8.
FDU-Florham Campus defeated Montclair State and Union to complete Day One play.
Volleys and Points (Stockton)
- Back-and-forth play told the story in the early portion of the opening set, with the teams exchanging brief runs to draw even at 11.
- A four-point Stockton run gave the guests a 15-12 advantage and forced a Stevens timeout.
- Consecutive kills by senior opposite Emily Singleton and Mitchell drew the Ducks even at 18 and forced a Stockton timeout.
- King paired with sophomore Sara Hain for three points that reclaimed a 22-21 lead for Stevens.
- A service error returned possession to Stockton and three straight attack errors gave the Ospreys the opening set.
- Play in the second frame began in a similar fashion, with the teams exchanging the first eight points.
- A Kovacs kill and a double block on a Mitchell attack opened a two-point lead for the Ospreys.
- Stevens would reclaim the serve after a Kovacs error, but Stockton would quickly counter, scoring three straight points to open a 9-5 advantage.
- The Ducks would not get any closer than three points over the remainder of the set as Stockton scored seven of the final ten points to close out the set.
- In the final set, Stockton grabbed early control, earning five of the first seven points, three of which came off Stevens' errors.
- Four straight kills by the Ducks forced a Stockton timeout. Stewart pinned down a Brianna Perez set to open the run and consecutive Mitchell kills bookended the rally.
- Stevens would close to within two (21-19) after consecutive Stockton errors, but after a rally, Allie Desmond connected on an Alice Brandt set to return the serve to the Ospreys.
- Stockton would go on to score the next three points to close the match.
Volleys and Points (Coast Guard)
- Back-to-back blocking plays opened the scoring. Stevens scored the first point of the match on an Deane blocking error and then Singleton and Stewart teamed to block a Deane attack to give Stevens an early 2-0 lead.
- Two errors surrounded a Julie Greco ace to push the Stevens' advantage to 5-0.
- After a Sydni Horner ace gave Stevens a 14-5 edge, Coast Guard scored eight of the next nine points to pull within two (15-13).
- The two-point margin would be as close as Coast Guard would come, however, as the Ducks quickly regained the serve.
- Singleton converted a Greco set to push the lead to 19-16 and the Ducks would take advantage of five Coast Guard errors to close the opening set. Strong serving forced the Bears into a negative hit percentage for the set.
- After Coast Guard errors helped Stevens take the opening frame, the high-powered Duck attack took over in the second set.
- Stewart and King teamed to reject a Bridget Boyle attack and then Stewart connected on a pair of Greco sets to give the Ducks a 4-1 lead.
- A decisive six-point run gave the Ducks an insurmountable 13-3 lead. Mitchell tallied three kills during the period and Hain notched a pair of blocks. A Jillian Roumbanis ace closed out the stretch.
- The Stevens lead would grow to as many as 14 before Coast Guard began its rally to pull within six (23-17).
- Hain put down a Greco set to return the serve to the Ducks and King followed in suit to close out the frame.
- Deane converted a Makenna Martin set to give Coast Guard a 1-0 lead to open the final frame. It would be the only lead of the match for the visitors.
- Facing a deficit for the first time in the match, Stevens quickly responded on consecutive kills by Mitchell and Stewart.
- The back-to-back kills sparked a stretch that saw Stevens score eight of nine points to seize control of the set.
- Coast Guard would pull to within two (10-8), but the Ducks would go on to score seven of the next eight points (three coming on King conversions) to take a 17-9 lead.
- The Ducks would close the match in grand fashion with a strong conversion by Hain and a service ace.
Match Point (Stockton)
- A setting error capped a 4-0 run that gave the visiting Ospreys the victory.
Match Point (Coast Guard)
Inside the Numbers (Stockton)
- The Ducks hit an uncharacteristic .179 for the match, while Stockton attacked at a .304 percentage.
- Stockton controlled play at the net, holding an 8-1 edge in total blocks.
- Stewart was held without a block for the first time all season.
- The Ospreys held a 3-2 edge in aces.
- Behind a match-high 22 from sophomore Julie Greco, Stevens held 40-38 edge in helpers.
- Despite the scores, Stevens recorded two more kills than Stockton.
- Freshman Jillian Roumbanis led all players with 10 digs.
Inside the Numbers (Coast Guard)
- Stevens hit .219 for the match, while holding Coast Guard to .040. The Bears had only four more kills than errors.
- Stevens did not commit a single receiving error in the match, while connecting for nine aces. Mitchell and senior libero Sydni Horner each recorded two.
- Setter Julie Greco recorded her fifth double-double of the season.
- Stewart recorded five blocks to lead all players, helping Stevens to an 8-4 edge. The Powell, Ohio native is currently 8th in program history (228).
Coach Speak
- "Credit to Stockton for playing a great match to start the weekend. They have some strong threats on offense. We fought hard but didn't have enough of an answer."
- "I was happy to see us come alive and have some fun to finish out the day."
- "Our serve and pass game was clicking, which allowed everything else to fall into place."
Unsung Hero
- "Shelby played great today. She was able to learn from Stockton, which translated into great blocking [against Coast Guard]." She was also always available on offense and produced well."
Up Next
The Ducks close out the 2017 Stevens Invitational with matches against Montclair State University and Union College. The contests close the home portion of the schedule.
Live stats and video will be available for both matches. Please note that the both matches will be streamed via Facebook Live.
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