HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 7, 2017)  – Senior Emily Singleton and sophomore Talleen Mitchell combined for 47 kills over two matches as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept Nazareth College (25-20, 25-23, 28-26) and The Sage Colleges (25-13, 25-12, 25-9) Saturday in an Empire 8 Conference tri-match. 

The victories snapped a three-game losing streak for the Ducks, and moved Stevens to 17-5 on the year and a perfect 6-0 in E8 play. The sweep secured a spot in the 2017 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament. Stevens can lock in the number one overall seed and hosting rights at the Hartwick Tri-Match on Oct. 21.

Stevens hit an outstanding .424 on the afternoon (89-16-172), and its .534 (44-5-73) attack percentage marked a new program record.

Kelsey Milligan led the Golden Flyers with eight kills and Alyssa Nellis led Sage with five kills. Nazareth defeated Sage in four sets in the neutral-site match. The Golden Flyers finished play at 13-7 and 4-1 in the Empire 8, while the Gators fell to 6-18 on the season and 0-5 in conference play.

Prior to the start of the match against Sage, seniors McKenzie Kingsbury, Emily Singleton and Sydni Horner were honored as the Women's Volleyball Class of 2018.

Volleys and Points (Nazareth)

• Nazareth scored five of the first six points to open the match. A kill by sophomore Casey King was the lone Stevens point during the stretch.
• Stevens responded with a run of its own, scoring seven of the next eight points to grab a slim lead.
• After Nazareth batted to tie the frame at 12, the Ducks scored four straight points to take control of the set. Consecutive Nazareth attack errors began the run and kills by Singleton and Mitchell closed it.
• After taking a 16-12 lead, the Ducks would maintain their edge for the remainder of the set, growing its lead as big as six points after Mitchell's conversion of a Julie Greco set and a Delaney Martin error.
• Three straight points drew Nazareth to within three (23-20), but a block assist from King and Kingsbury and a Singleton conversion closed out the set.
• The second set would see Stevens take an early lead with three straight Naz errors contributing to a 5-2 lead for the hosts.
• The early lead would prove to be too much for the visitors to overcome.
• Five straight points from the Ducks forced a Nazareth timeout as Stevens opened a 17-9 lead.
• Singleton pinned down a Greco set to force set point, but Nazareth would score five consecutive points to pull within a single point, but Mitchell sent down a Greco feed to end the second frame.
• The teams alternated the first two points of the final set, Nazareth scored five of the next six points to take a 6-2 lead.
• Spurred by production on the outside from King and Mitchell, the Ducks rallied to take a 10-8 lead and force a Nazareth timeout.
• Stevens would grow its lead to six points, but the Golden Flyers battled back to take a 22-20 lead.
• Sophomore Sara Hain connected on a Nazareth free ball to draw the teams even at 22. Hain would connect on a Greco feed and a Martin attack error gave Stevens its first match point.
• Nazareth battled back to force a set point, but Singleton deftly put down a Greco feed to again tie match, sparking a three-point run that closed out the match.

Volleys and Points (Sage)

• Stevens took control of the match from the opening serve. Sage won the coin flip, but King put down a Greco set to quickly give Stevens a 1-0 lead.
• The Ducks would score eight of the first nine points of the frame, including three straight aces by King.
• Sage would draw to within seven points on three different occasions, but six straight points opened a commanding 22-9 lead for Stevens.
• A Mitchell kill brought set point and an Amelia Taylor error closed the frame.
• The second set produced tight play between the teams over the set's first 11 points. 
• Leading 6-5, sophomore Shelby Stewart converted a Greco feed to return the serve to Stevens and the Ducks would go on to score five of the next six points to grab a decisive 12-6 lead.
• Sage briefly seized control of the serve after a Nellis kill, but Kingsbury halted the Sage run before it began, leading to a 5-0 run for the Ducks. Back-to-back Singleton kills closed the run.
• A block assist by Singleton and Kingsbury prompted an additional Stevens run that saw the Ducks outscore the Gators 7-1 to produce set point.
• Sage briefly fought off set point, taking advantage of two Stevens' errors, but Mitchell put down a Greco set to give Stevens a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Looking to close out the match, a 12-1 run by Stevens put the frame out of reach. Consecutive Sage errors began the run and a Kingsbury ace rounded it out. A Gabby Rowell kill accounted for the lone point for Sage.
• After the Gators inched their way back to within 10 points, Horner forced the Sage offense out of sorts, notching a service ace and forcing a pair of attack errors to reach match point.

Match Point (Nazareth)

• Controlling the serve for its second match point, Singleton put down a Horner set to secure the win.

Match Point (Sage)

• Greco fed King for her sixth kill of the match to wrap up the afternoon.

Inside the Numbers (Nazareth)

• Stevens outhit the Golden Flyers, .343-.090. The Ducks held Nazareth to a negative attack percentage in the opening set.
• Stevens only made two errors in the second stanza, compiling a .406 attack percentage.
• Nazareth held a 10-6 edge in aces, but the Ducks recorded more kills, blocks, assists and digs.
• Greco collected 35 assists to lead all players.
• Greco and King led Stevens with 11 digs. Horner recorded seven digs to finish in single digits for the first time this season. The Columbia, Maryland native did finish with a career-high seven assists.
• King led all players with three blocks. Kelsey Milligan recorded Nazareth's lone block.
• King recorded her ninth double-double of the season. Greco finished with the second double-double of her career.

Inside the Numbers (Sage)

• Stevens finished with a program-record .534 attack percentage (44-5-73). The previous program best was .500 mark against Maritime College on Sept. 16, 2016.
• The Ducks hit .654 in the second frame, making only a single error. Stevens scored 18 of its 25 points via kill in the stanza. 
• Stevens only totaled five attack errors on the day and did not commit a ball-handling error, a setting error, or a blocking error. 
• Mitchell notched 13 kills on 20 attacks without an error (.650 attack percentage). 
• Greco finished with 40 assists. It was the Thornwood, New York native's sixth effort of 40 helpers or better.
• Sage did not record a single block during the match. 
• King finished with a career-high seven aces!

Coach Speak

• "We took the opportunity this week to take a step back in practices and go back to basics and refine a few different skills. I think it really showed today in how we handled two tough conference opponents."
• "It was important that we focused on keeping our side clean and we did just that."
• "I'm happy to see things that we're working so hard at improving start to translate to game play."
• "I'm impressed with our performance this weekend."

Stricly Seniors

• "We talk with our seniors and captains a lot about the legacy they want to leave behind so that the culture lasts past their time here. Today, was just the exclamation point on three great careers that will leave lasting legacies."
• "I'm so proud of our seniors. They will be missed dearly on this team next year, but they should be proud with all that they accomplished."

Up Next

• The Ducks open the 2017 Stevens Invitational Friday with matches against Stockton University (4:00 p.m.) and the United States Coast Guard Academy (8:00 p.m.).
• Live stats and video will be available for both matches.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
Snapchat: ducks_athletics