HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 2, 2019) – Led by a double-double from sophomore Kathleen Riegner the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team earned their third consecutive sweep to open MAC Freedom play with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 victory over DeSales University Wednesday inside Canavan Arena.

With the win, Stevens has now won 54 consecutive regular season conference contests and move to 8-8 overall and 3-0 in MAC Freedom competition. The Ducks now stand atop the conference standings, tied with Eastern University as the only two teams who own perfect conference records.

Coming into the contest riding a three-game winning streak, DeSales now drops to 7-10 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Riegner, a junior from Monroe, N.Y., produced her fifth double-double of the season and her second in as many games with 27 assists and 11 digs in the victory.

Senior Shelby Stewart picked up seven kills, six blocks and a pair of service aces while sophomore Elizabeth Chu added a game-high 17 digs as the Ducks earned their fifth sweep of the season and are now 6-3 in their last nine contests.

Volleys and Points

• DeSales came out of the gates firing in the opening set, using a 7-1 run to take an early 9-4 lead.
• Trailing 17-15 in the set, Stevens responded with a 6-0 run, taking advantage of five total errors by the Bulldogs.
• After DeSales cut the deficit to two at 22-20, the Ducks pulled away by winning three of the final four points to grab the set 25-21.
• The second set started much like the first, this time with DeSales opening on a 7-1 run.
• The Bulldogs eventually stretched the lead to 16-7 and looked to be cruising to a set win.
• Stevens was not to be denied, however, as they came roaring back with an 8-1 flurry and cut the deficit to two.
• Still down 20-17 in the set, the Ducks turned to a pair of freshman, Allie Morton and Ava Smithing, who combined to score three points in what was a 6-0 run to take the lead.
• Leading by one late in the set, Stevens was able to put it away thanks to a pair of errors from the Bulldogs for the narrow 25-23 victory.
• After trading blows early in the third set, the Ducks created some breathing room with a 7-3 run to take a 15-10 lead.
• The Ducks delivered the knockout punch late, winning four of the final five points of the set to complete the sweep.

Match Point

• Chu gave Stevens the win when she delivered her second service ace of the match.

Inside the Numbers

• Neither team hit the ball with high efficiency on the night, with the Ducks holding an .064 to .017 edge in attack percentage.
• Stevens did, however, produce at the service line with eight service aces compared to just three from DeSales.
• Senior Casey King led the Ducks in kills with nine on the night while Stewart added seven and Smithing produced six.
• Stevens was able to keep the Bulldogs in check offensively, not allowing any player to produce more than six kills in the contest.

Unsung Hero

• Chu was fantastic defensively, producing double-digit digs for the fifth straight game and finishing just one shy of her season-high of 18 digs.

Chasing History

• With six blocks tonight, Stewart now has 421 total blocks in her career and sits just eight blocks away from breaking Maggie Kowalska's school record of 428 career total blocks.
• Despite hitting .059 in the match, Sara Hain is still on track to set both the career and single-season attack percentage record for the program. If the season ended today, her .391 season percentage and .336 career percentage would break the school records.

Up Next

• The Ducks will take the weekend off before they head to Dallas, Pennsylvania to take on Misericordia on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
• It is believed to be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in women's volleyball.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise