HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 6, 2019) – After a perfect regular season in MAC Freedom play, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team will attempt to continue their stellar streak as they face off with #4 seeded Misericordia Wednesday night at 7:00 inside Canavan Arena.

The Ducks head into the contest riding a nine-game winning streak and have now advanced to the conference tournament in each of the past nine seasons dating back to their time in the Empire 8 Conference.

On the other side of the bracket, the #2 seed Eastern University Eagles will face off with #3 DeSales Wednesday at 7:00 in St. David, Pennsylvania. The winner of the two contests will face off in the MAC Freedom Championship Saturday, hosted by the highest remaining seed.

Stevens has now won the regular season conference title in each of the past seven seasons and will be looking for their first conference tournament title since 2017.

#1 Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks | 18-11; 7-0
Schedule | Roster | Stats
After starting the year 9-11, the Ducks closed the regular season on a tear, winning each of their last nine contests while only dropping a total of four sets in the winning streak.
Stevens breezed through regular season conference play, sweeping six of their seven conference opponents en route ending the regular season unbeaten in conference play for the seventh consecutive year.
The Ducks lead the MAC Freedom in kills, assists, blocks and digs per set this season.

Players to Watch:

• Sara Hain – Senior – Middle Blocker – The 2019 MAC Freedom Player of the Year leads the conference with a .376 attack percentage and is also second in the MAC Freedom with 0.88 blocks per set on the year
• Elizabeth Chu – Sophomore – Libero – Named the 2019 MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, Chu heads into the contest with 418 total digs compared to just 53 receiving errors this season
• Shelby Stewart – Senior – Middle Blocker – A 2019 First Team All-Conference contributor, Stewart is atop the conference with 102 total blocks this season while also ranking fifth with a .278 hitting percentage
• Kathleen Riegner – Sophomore – Setter – Another 2019 First Team All-Conference performer, Riegner is third in the MAC Freedom with 9.04 assists per set and fourth in the conference with 0.49 service aces per set

#2 Eastern University Eagles | 20-11, 6-1
Schedule | Roster | Stats
Eastern heads into the conference tournament riding a five-match winning streak with their lone loss in conference play coming at the hands of the Ducks.
The Eagles lead the MAC Freedom with a .207 team attack percentage this season and rank second in the conference with 12.3 kills per set.
They have also been fantastic at home on the year with a 7-2 record at Eastern Gymnasium.

Players to Watch:

• Caroline Shelby – Junior – Outside Hitter – The First Team All-MAC Freedom selection leads the conference with 440 total kills on the season
• Cecillia Bauer – Senior – Outside Hitter – Another First Team All-MAC Freedom, Bauer averages 2.89 kills per set which ranks fifth in the conference
• Ally Spillane – Junior – Outside Hitter – A Second Team All-MAC Freedom honoree, Spillane ranks inside the top-12 in the MAC Freedom in attack percentage, total kills and service aces per set
• Katie Stenby – Senior – Defensive Specialist – Ranks fifth in the conference with 416 total digs and sixth with 3.82 digs per set.

When We Last Met:
In the de-facto regular season conference championship match, the Ducks swept Eastern 3-0 inside Canavan Arena on Oct. 22. Stevens was led offensively in the contest by freshman Allie Morton who racked up 12 kills in the win.

#3 DeSales University Bulldogs | 15-17, 5-2
Schedule | Roster | Stats
After starting conference play 1-2, the Bulldogs went on to win their final three MAC Freedom contests to grab the #3 seed with their lone losses coming to Stevens and Eastern.
DeSales does a ton of their damage at the point of attack, sitting second in the conference with 1.5 blocks per set.
The Bulldogs have been dominant in conference play outside of the contests against the Ducks and Eagles, dropping just one set in the other five matches.

Players to Watch:

• Morgan Shoemaker – Senior – Middle Hitter – The First Team All-MAC Freedom selection ranks third in the conference in both attack percentage (.313) and blocks per set (0.84).
• Cristal Fernandez – Senior – Libero – A Second Team All-Conference honoree, Fernandez is second in the MAC Freedom with 5.06 digs per set.
• Audrey Wolfe – Sophomore – Setter – Another Second Team All-MAC Freedom winner for the Bulldogs, Wolfe is number two in the conference with 9.35 assists per set, only .01 behind Karley May of Misericordia.
• Diane Pugay – Freshman – Outside Hitter – In her first season with DeSales, Pugay is second on the team with 222 total kills this season.

When We Last Met:
The Ducks swept DeSales (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) in their last meeting in Dallas, Pennsylvania. Senior Casey King led the way for Stevens with nine kills to go along with 11 digs.

#4 Misericordia University Cougars | 20-16, 4-3
Schedule | Roster | Stats
The Cougars head into the conference tournament having won two of their last three contests, including a 3-1 victory over Wilkes University to clinch a spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament.
Misericordia has been strong on the service line this season, leading the conference with 2.39 services aces per set.
Despite being the #4 seed, the Cougars are tied for second in the MAC Freedom with 20 overall victories on the year.

Players to Watch:

• Fiona Pyfer – Freshman – Outside Hitter – The 2019 MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year ranks ninth in the conference with 2.7 kills per set
• Tara Welliver – Senior – Middle Hitter – A Second Team All-Conference selection, Welliver is second in the MAC Freedom with a .325 attack percentage and fifth in the conference with 314 total kills
• Faith Merritt – Freshman – Outside Hitter – In her first season with the Cougars, Merritt is third on the team with 2.34 kills per set on the year
• Karley May – Senior – Setter – May leads the MAC Freedom in both total assists (1198) and assists per set (9.36) and also ranks fifth in the conference with 0.48 service aces per set.

When We Last Met:
Stewart led the way for Stevens with 10 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Misericordia last time out. The Ducks won the matchup 25-12, 25-16, 25-13 for one of their 11 sweeps on the season.

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