BALTIMORE, Md. (November 17, 2019) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team saw their historic 2019 season come to an end with a 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-18) loss against Johns Hopkins Sunday in the NCAA Regional Final at Newton H. White Center.

The Ducks advanced to the Round of 16 for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2016. The loss snaps a 13-match winning streak as Stevens will close the year with a 22-12 overall record.

First Team All-Centennial Conference selection Simone Bliss led the way for the Blue Jays with 17 kills to go along with 12 digs in the victory. Johns Hopkins (32-0) remains the only undefeated team left in NCAA Division III as they will move on to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, looking to capture their first NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship in program history.

It is the seventh straight season the Ducks have won at least 20 matches as seniors Sara Hain, Shelby Stewart, Casey King, Kristen Edmiston, Abbie Clark and Julie Greco will close their careers with a 105-36 overall record.

Hain, the 2019 MAC Freedom Player of the Year, also closes her senior campaign with a .340 career attack percentage to set a new program record, shattering the previous record of .284 held by Chrissy Drobish.

Stewart, meanwhile, will see her illustrious run with Stevens end with a new program-best 497 career total blocks. She still leads all active players in NCAA DIII in career blocks.

Both Hain and Stewart were named to the All-Tournament team for their impressive performances in the regional.

Stevens, who won both the MAC Freedom Championship in their first year in the new conference, will return seven players who played in at least 20 matches for the 2020 season.

Match Point

• Johns Hopkins was able to close out the victory with their first service ace of the match from Lauren Anthony.

Volleys and Points

• It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening set as neither team was able to lead by more than two points halfway through the stanza.
• The Blue Jays finally broke through with four consecutive points highlighted by back-to-back kills from Bliss to take a 19-16 lead.
• The Ducks responded with a quick 4-2 run to cut the deficit to 21-20 late in the set.
• JHU was not to be denied, however, registering the final four points of the set to win 25-20.
• Trailing 2-0 in the second, Stevens went on their first long run of the match by scoring six of the next seven points to take an early 6-3 lead.
• The Ducks were able to keep the Blue Jays at arms-length for much of the contest but could not hold them off for good as JHU scored four consecutive points after falling behind 17-13 to tie the match at 17.
• Behind 20-19, the Blue Jays were able to win five of the next seven points to force a set point in the second stanza.
• Thanks to kills from Stewart, King and Allie Morton, the Ducks were able to fight off a total of four set points to stay alive in the set.
• Trailing 27-26, Stevens was unable to stave off their fifth set point as they dropped the set 28-26.
• Much like in the first set, neither team was able to create much separation in the third as the teams traded punches to open the stanza.
• JHU was able to rattle off a quick 5-0 run followed by a 4-0 flurry to take an 18-13 lead in the set.
• The Ducks were able to climb back within four but could not get any closer as the Blue Jays scored the final three points of the set to win 25-18.

Inside the Numbers

• King and Stewart led the Ducks offensively with eight kills apiece while Hain and Morton added six each.
• Sophomore setter Kathleen Riegner added 23 more assists to her ledger to give her 1,093 on the season which is the sixth-most single season assists in program history.
• Stevens was still able to hold the edge in the match at the service line as they produced five service aces compared to just one from JHU.
• The Blue Jays hit .217 in the contest and .314 in the opening set while the Ducks were held to just .060 in the match.
• The 2019 MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year Elizabeth Chu led the way for the Ducks on the defensive side of the ball with 15 digs while King and Riegner added 11 and 10, respectively.
• Hain closes the season with a .372 attack percentage in her senior campaign, giving her the top two and three of the top six individual single season hitting percentages in program history.
• Both King and Stewart end their careers with the Ducks inside the top-12 in career kills as Stewart ranks 11th with 974 and King finishes 12th with 936 in just three seasons.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Annie McShea)

• "Johns Hopkins is a very impressive and well-rounded team, so it was tough to find a rhythm with our offense. Our fight and our intensity allowed us to stay in it and really made it tough for them to score at times. I'm so proud of our season as a whole. It was a really special team, and we'll remember this playoff run for a long time."

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