ITHACA, N.Y. (August 31, 2018)  – Junior Sara Hain totaled 11 kills and classmate Shelby Stewart registered three blocks, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell to No. 2 Calvin College 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-15) and No. 17 Juniata College 3-1 (14-25, 18-25, 25-22, 21-25) Friday on the opening day of the 2018 Bomber Invitational, hosted by Ithaca College.

Senior Brianna Perez added five kills and dished out 17 assists for the Ducks, who saw four different players make their collegiate debuts against a pair of top-20 opponents. 

Anna Kamp led Calvin with a match-high 11 kills and Sarah DeVries handed out 15 assists. The Knights also swept hosting Ithaca College to improve to 2-0.

Marybeth Weihbrecht, Morgan Edwards and Victoria Edwards each totaled 13 kills for Juniata, who improved to 3-0 all-time against the Ducks.

Volleys and Points (Calvin)

• Calvin recorded the first point of the 2018 season on a Kamp kill.
• Stevens evened the score on a service error before Corinne Dougherty recorded her first collegiate point by setting down a Julie Greco set.
• The teams alternated the next series of points before Calvin opened a 9-5 lead with a pair of three-point runs.
• Stevens would draw as close as three points on a Stewart kill and a Kelsey Smith attack error, but the Knights quickly regained a seven-point edge after a double block by Kamp and Sydney Segard.
• Three consecutive attack errors provided Calvin with set point and a Taleen Mitchell miscue closed out the first set.
• The second set saw Calvin score five of the first six points to secure an early lead.
• Stevens clawed back into the frame on a pair of Calvin errors and an ace by freshman Roxy Stirb to pull within one.
• Calvin's net play produced a pair of blocks to push the lead back to six, but the resilient Ducks reeled off four straight points, punctuated by a double block by Stewart and Hain to close to two and force a Calvin timeout.
• Following the timeout, the Knights claimed the next two points, but a Stewart kill and a Segard attack error again drew Stevens within two.
• A Smith kill returned the serve to Calvin and the Knights won the next two points to close out the set.
• With a 2-0 lead in the match, Calvin came out firing in the final set, scoring seven of the first nine points to force a Stevens timeout.
• The Knights hit a match-high .379 in the final frame, recording 13 kills on 29 attempts with just two errors.
• Stevens never fully recovered from the early deficit, drawing as close as one after a Hain kill and a Greco ace, but Grace Kellogg provided a spark with a kill and an ace to return the serve to the second-ranked Knights, who scored the final four points to close the match.

Volleys and Points (Juniata)

• Marie Gonsar served an ace to open a three-point run to begin the match for Juniata.
• Dougherty and Hain scored back-to-back kills to tie the score at seven.
• An 8-0 Juniata run proved to be too much for Stevens to overcome. Gonsar recorded three kills and Alyssa Tavera dished out four assists during the key stretch. Tavera totaled 50 assists on the day.
• Mitchell ended the run by converting a Perez pass, but consecutive kills by Weihbrecht and Taylor pushed the Juniata advantage to double figures.
• Hain notched a pair of kills to draw Stevens within nine, but Gonsar set down a Katie Byrne feed to help Juniata close out the frame.
• Weihbrecht pinned down a Tavera set to open the scoring in the second set.
• Juniata hit a match-high .500 in the second set, registering 20 kills on 34 attacks with just three errors. 
• Despite Juniata high attack percentage in the frame, the Ducks were down just one point in the middle portion of the set, benefitting from six Juniata errors.
• Stewart and Dougherty rejected a Dejia Danhi attack to pull Stevens within three at 18-15.
• The Eagles put a little cushion between the teams after back-to-back kills from Edwards and Gonsar.
• A Jillian Roumbanis ace and a a Tavera ball-handling error drew the Ducks back within four, but Weihbrecht pinned down consecutive Tavera sets to close out the stanza.
• The third set saw Stevens pair timely scoring with multiple Juniata errors.
• The Ducks collected just five kills in the frame, but the Eagles committed 17 total errors to hand Stevens its first set win of the season.
• It was Juniata that scored the first two points of the set on consecutive Gonsar aces.
• A service error and a Perez kill tied the score.
• Three errors and a Chu ace gave the Ducks their first lead at 6-5.
• Every Juniata run was answered in the frame and the Ducks opened their largest lead of the entire day with a four-point stretch, punctuated by a double block and a Perez ace.
• Dougherty's second kill of the set reclaimed a three-point lead for the Ducks, before Juniata scored three straight points to force a timeout.
• Following the timeout, a Roumbanis ace and a Grace Erskine error pushed Stevens to set point and another Gonsar service miscue closed out the frame.
• Victoria Taylor set down a Tavera pass to open the scoring in the fourth set.
• Perez converted a Chu pass to tie the score at one.
• Stewart set down a Perez pass and the collected an ace to give Stevens an 8-7 advantage to cap a three-point run.
• The Ducks again reeled off three straight points to give the Ducks their largest lead of the set.
• Juniata rallied on a Makenna Hallager ace to tie the frame at 13.
• Back and forth play produced six ties over the next sequence of points, but Juniata reeled off four straight points to win the final set.

Match Point (Calvin)

• Keilahna Castillo served an ace to close out the match.

Match Point (Juniata)

• Hallager served a perfectly placed ball to close the match. Hallager finished with five aces.

Inside the Numbers (Calvin)

• Stevens was held to a negative attack percentage for the match.
• Calvin held the edge in kills, aces and blocks, while the Ducks recorded more digs.
• Kamp was the only player in the match to reach double figures in kills.
• Dougherty, Elizabeth Chu and Stirb each recorded their first collegiate points.
• Roumbanis extended her consecutive match streak to 36. The San Francisco, California native collected six digs.
• Hain finished with a team-high five kills and two blocks.

Inside the Numbers (Juniata)

• The Eagles outhit Stevens .302-.076 for the match. 
• Each team recorded eight aces.
• Juniata held a 62-31 edge in kills and an 8-2 advantage in blocks.
• Freshman Terence Chan recorded a dig in her collegiate debut.
• Chu and Roumbanis each collected double-digit digs.
• Mitchell and Dougherty each posted a team-high seven kills.
• Junior Kristen Edmiston notched a kill and a block.

From the Courts

• "Today we learned a lot about ourselves as a team against some of the best competition in the country."
• "We saw some moments of greatness today, which makes us excited for the future."
• "Our passing and defense kept us in the matches and I'm more and more impressed with our defensive ability and effort everyday."

Unsung Hero

• Chu totaled 43 digs over two matches in her collegiate debut. The Old Tappan, New Jersey native also collected a pair of aces and four assists.

Up Next

• Stevens closes out the 2018 Bomber Invitational with a match against No. 8 Ithaca.
• It will be the third consecutive match versus a ranked opponent to begin the season.
• The teams split during the 2017 season, with Stevens taking a 3-1 victory during the regular season and the Bombers rallying for a four-set win in the NCAA Regional semifinals.
• Live stats and video links at StevensDucks.com.

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