ELMIRA, N.Y. (September 22, 2017) – Senior
Emily Singleton recorded 10 kills as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept Elmira College (25-16, 25-19, 25-16) Friday night in an Empire 8 Conference matchup.
Sophomore outside hitter
Casey King totaled seven kills and two aces for the Ducks, who won their 11th straight game to improve to 13-2 overall, and 2-0 in conference play.
Elmira's Natalie Schneider led all players with 11 kills. The Soaring Eagles dropped their second consecutive match to fall to 7-4 and 0-1 in E8 play.
Volleys and Points
- Consecutive kills by sophomore Taleen Mitchell and Singleton opened the scoring.
- The teams combined for five lead changes in the early going before Stevens jumped in from 8-6 after a block from sophomore middle blocker Sara Hain and a King kill.
- A four-point run would see Stevens open a 14-8 lead, taking advantage of back-to-back Elmira attack errors.
- Elmira would draw to within 15-13, but the Ducks countered with six of the next seven points to again seize control of the set.
- Sophomore setter Julie Greco fed three different Ducks (Mitchell, King, Hain) over a four-point stretch, which saw Stevens close out the opening frame.
- The second set began in a similar fashion as the first, seeing the teams play to a 5-5 tie.
- After opening a two-point lead on consecutive Elmira errors, Stevens maintained its advantage for the remainder of the set, building as much as a seven-point lead.
- Sophomore Shelby Stewart closed out the second set, putting down a free ball, for her second kill of the frame.
- With the match on the line, the Soaring Eagles came out firing, taking a 4-3 lead on back-to-back kills from Lauren Smith.
- Three Elmira errors and a pair of Singleton conversions gave Stevens an 8-4 lead.
- The hosts would battle back to tie the set at 11, but showing the winning mentality that's helped drive the team's winning streak, Stevens scored seven straight points to take control of the set. Three different Ducks recorded a kill and Singleton and Stewart teamed up for a block.
- The Soaring Eagles would try to claw their way back into the set, scoring three straight points to pull within 21-16.
- Singleton would collect her 10th kill of the match to reclaim the serve and the Ducks would go on to score the next three points to close out the match.
Match Point
Inside the Numbers
- Forcing Elmira into negative attack percentages in the second and third sets, Stevens forced the Soaring Eagles into the same number of kills and errors (25) for the match.
- Hain and Stewart matched Schneider with four blocks each. Singleton added three as Stevens held an 8-5 edge at the net.
- Freshman defensive specialist Jillian Roumbanis notched a pair of kills. The Ducks totaled six aces on the night.
- Mitchell and senior libero Sydni Horner led all players with 11 digs. Horner has totaled double-digit in all 13 matches.
- Sophomore setter Julie Greco dished out 28 assists.
- With the victory, Stevens improved to 11-3 all-time against Elmira.
Coach Speak
- "Elmira had a great crowd, which we knew to expect going into another conference match. It was just another factor we had to work through, and we did that well."
- "We were able to focus on our side and really implement some different things we were working on in practice this week."
Unsung Hero
- "[Sydni Horner] played great tonight. Based on our scouting report, we had a feeling their hitters were going to attack towards her a lot and she did great defensively. She also set a new standard for her passing: she had the best passing numbers she's had all season by far. It was really great to see her settle in and feel confident with her passing."
Up Next
- The Ducks return to the court for a pair of conference matches Saturday at the Houghton tri-match, with contests with the hosting Highlanders and Utica College.
- Live stats and video will be available for the Houghton match only.
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