SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (September 9, 2017)  – Sophomore Taleen Mitchell totaled 25 kills to pace the offense as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept Skidmore College (25-20, 25-16, 25-22) and rallied to down Middlebury College in four sets (24-26, 25-15, 26-24, 25-21) to conclude play at the Union Invitational. 

Sophomore Casey King also collected 25 kills on the afternoon as the Ducks won their fifth straight match to improve to 7-2.

Caite Canfield had eight kills for the Thoroughbreds, who fell in straight sets to Williams College earlier in the day, to close play at 2-5.

Becca Raffel picked up a match-best 17 kills to lead Middlebury. The Panthers lost to Brockport in the final match of their weekend to conclude play 2-2.

Mitchell and freshman setter Olivia Poplawski were named to the Union Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament team and Mitchell was named the event's Most Valuable Player. The Los Angeles, California native recorded double-digit kills in all four matches and picked up her fourth career double-double versus Middlebury. Mitchell totaled a .295 attack percentage (47-10-124) during the tournament.

Volleys and Points (Skidmore)

• Stevens took advantage of two Skidmore errors to jump out to an early 2-0 advantage.
• A tight, back-and-forth opening set saw nine ties.
• Stevens attempt to take control of the set with a five-point run, highlighted by two Mitchell strikes and a double block by Mitchell and sophomore Sara Hain.
• Skidmore rallied to tie the set at 20.
• Two errors and a Poplawski ace propelled Stevens to a set-winning five-point rally.
• Playing one of the top defensive sets of the season, Stevens took advantage of 15 Skidmore errors to account for its 25 points, including its final four.
• The Ducks recorded just nine kills in the set and another Poplawski ace accounted for the set total.
• Trailing 16-14, the Ducks scored the set's final 11 points to take a 2-0 lead. Back-to-back kills from Hain and King began the run, and after a block assist from Poplawski and Hain, three consecutive errors closed out the frame.
• The final set again provided plenty of back-and-forth action over the opening points with five ties between the teams.
• With the set knotted at 10, Poplawski connected with four different players: Mitchell, senior Emily Singleton, sophomore Shelby Stewart and King, for four points that gave Stevens a lead they'd never relinquish.
• Poplawski fed Mitchell and Hain for a pair of points that preceded a Stewart ace for a commanding 18-12 lead.
• Skidmore would pull to within one at 19-18 but three consecutive kills by three different players pushed the lead back to four (22-18).
• A Stewart kill pushed the game to match point. 
• Consecutive errors by the Ducks helped Skidmore close to within two before Stevens ended the match.

Volleys and Points (Middlebury)

• Errors by each team opened the match.
• Four straight Middlebury points opened a lead for the Panthers before the Stevens attack got back on track.
• King connected for a kill and an ace and Stewart notched back-to-back kills to give the Ducks a 7-4 advantage.
• After the early flurries, the teams would battle back and forth, totaling 12 ties throughout play in the opening frame.
• After being tied at 10, neither team held more than a two-point edge for the remainder of the set.
• A Stewart kill pushed the Ducks to set point (24-23), but a Eliana Schaefer tied the set of 24 and two Stevens errors gave Middlebury the opening set.
• A Singleton kill opened the scoring in the second set.
• Like the opening set, the teams limited scoring runs early in the set, until, propelled by three Hain kills and two Middlebury errors, Stevens grabbed an 11-7 lead.
• Strong serving by senior Sydni Horner forced another pair of Panther errors to give Stevens a six-point edge.
• Five straight points with Stewart at the serve gave the Ducks a commanding 23-12 lead. The run was highlighted by a tandem block by Hain and Singleton.
• A Mitchell set-down a Poplawski set closed the set and tied the teams at 1.
• Brockport would draw even at 11.
• The third set featured the same back-and-forth action as the opening two with each team only going on one three-point run. Middlebury's came midway through the frame, turning a one-point Stevens lead into a one-point lead for the Panthers. Stevens' lone three-point run began with the Ducks fending off a set point and closed with a Raffel attack error that closed the set.
• Set point was averted off a block assist from Poplawski and Hain. King scored off a Poplawski feed to give Stevens its first set point of the frame.
• The final set began with a Poplawski service error.
• Stevens rebounded with six of the next seven points to take a 6-2 lead, highlighted by aces from King and Stewart.
• Middlebury responded with a five-point run of its own to take a 7-6 advantage.
• Slowly and steadily, the Ducks built a five point lead following Stewart's third ace of the match.
• Consecutive kills by Hain and Kill seemingly put the match out of reach at 22-16, but Middlebury recorded five straight points to climb with one. Raffel had three straight kills during the run.
• After a service error returned the ball to the Ducks, a Horner ace gave Stevens match point before Stewart closed out the match. 

Match Point (Skidmore)

• A ball-handling error provided match point and King put down a Poplawski set to close the match.

Match Point (Middlebury)

• A Horner ace pushed the Ducks to match point and Stewart notched her second kill of the set to finish the match.

Inside the Numbers (Skidmore)

• A tight Stevens defense forced 11 Skidmore attack errors in the second set for a -.200 attack percentage. It was the lowest mark for an opponent this season.
• The second set produced a combined 14 kills.
• In the final set, the Ducks recorded their 25 points on 22 successful kills. 
• Mitchell's 13 kills marked a match high.
• Horner recorded a match-high 15 digs and converted her lone attack.
• Right side Emily Singleton put down eight attacks with just one error for a .538 attack percentage.

Inside the Numbers (Middlebury)

• The opening set victory by Middlebury proved to be the only set Stevens dropped on the weekend.
• Stevens again held an opponent to a negative attack percentage in one of the sets, forcing Middlebury into more errors than kills in the second set.
• Four Ducks recorded double-digit kills and two produced double-doubles.
• Stewart tallied a career-high three aces.
• Poplawski totaled a career-best 49 assists.
• King led the team, and matched a season-high, with 18 digs.

Coach Speak (McShea)

• "In both matches today, we continued our tough serving, which made our lives easier."
• "We were able to stay in system and take advantage of weaknesses on the other side of the net."
• "Both Skidmore and Middlebury challenged us, but once again, we were able to connect and perform when it mattered towards the end of sets."

Unsung Heroes

• "Today was truly a group effort. Olivia kept the offense rolling with help of strong passing from Sydni and [freshman Jillian Roumbanis]."
• "Our middles could not be stopped, especially in the second match, which gave us one-on-one situations for our outsides and Emily."
• "We were clicking from top to bottom today."

Up Next

• Stevens welcomes New Paltz University to the Canavan Arena for its 2017 home opener. 
• The Ducks swept the Hawks in 2016 to snap a seven-game New Paltz winning streak in the series.

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