HOBOKEN, N.J. (August 30, 2019) – Seniors Sara Hain and Shelby Stewart each recorded a career-high 17 kills as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team defeated Roger Williams University in four sets (25-19, 27-25, 22-25, 29-27) Friday to earn a split on the opening day of the Stevens Invitational.

Junior Jillian Roumbanis joined Hain and Stewart in achieving a new career high in Stevens' second match of the day. The San Francisco, California native racked up a career-best 25 digs against the Hawks to help Stevens even its record at 1-1. She also added one kill. Roumbanis' previous career best was 20, reached against Vassar last September. The libero also totaled 17 digs against Millikin University in the first match of the day.

Earlier in the day, the Ducks fell to Millikin in three sets (25-19, 25-19, 28-26) in both teams' season opener. The Big Blue were swept by Johns Hopkins University in the lone neutral-site match of the evening..

Hain, one of the most efficient hitters in program history, connected on 17 of her 27 attempts against the Hawks, while committing just three errors. The Roseville, Minnesota native hit .519 to lead all players. Hain hit .353 (6-0-17) against Millikin. Her previous career high was 16 kills in a five-set victory over then No. 22 Swarthmore on Sept. 8, 2018. Stewart, whose previous career high was also 16, set down her 17 kills on 48 attacks. 

In the first match of the day, Millikin was able to jump ahead early in the first and second sets one and then rallied from behind in the third set to secure the victory. The Big Blue hit .364 in the opening set and were led by 12 kills from Melissa McElroy.

Against Roger Williams, it was Stevens that was able to rally. The Ducks came from behind in two separate sets to grab the win. Over the course of the four-set match, Stevens fought off 10 set points to clinch the victory.

Volleys and Points (Match One)

• With the first set tied 8-8, Millikin went on a 13-4 run to take a commanding 21-12 lead.
• The Ducks responded with a 6-1 run of their own, but it was not enough as the Big Blue scored three of the final four points to grab the set.
• Millikin came out hot in the second set, scoring the first seven points to go up early.
• Stevens was able to creep back to within four points at 15-11.
• The Big Blue answered once again by going on a quick 6-1 run to take control and win the second set.
• In set number three, it was the Ducks who got out to a quick start by taking a 7-3 lead.
• The two teams traded a pair of 4-0 runs in the middle of the set to make the score 14-10 in favor of Stevens.
• Trailing 24-22, Millikin was able to stave off a pair of match points and took the third set by winning six of the game's final eight points

Match Point (Match One)

• Tori Stuart was able to give Millikin the victory with a kill in the final point of set three

Inside the Numbers (Match One)

• Stevens held a 9-3 advantage in blocks.
• The two teams were nearly even in digs with the Big Blue registering 53 and the Ducks producing 51.
• Millikin hit .167 in the match while Stevens had an attack percentage of .119.
• Freshman Ava Smithing produced a total of six blocks in her collegiate debut.
• The Ducks committed just 15 attack errors while Millikin tallied 20.
• Joining Smithing in making her collegiate debut were classmates Allie Morton and Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar.

Unsung Hero (Match One)

• Smithing had a strong showing in her first match on Castle Point, producing five kills while hitting .300.

Volleys and Points (Match Two)

• The Ducks raced out to an early 8-3 lead in the first set of the match.
• Leading 8-5, Stevens scored eight of the next nine points in the set to extend the lead to 10 and eventually grabbed the set 25-19.
• The second set was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than three points until the Hawks were able to pull ahead 19-14.
• With the score 23-18, the Ducks roared back by going on a 7-1 run, including staving off four set points.
• In total, Stevens scored nine of the final 11 points in the set.
• The third set was another close match, eventually won 25-22 by Roger Williams thanks to the Hawks winning the final three points of the set.
• An early 6-2 run in set number four gave the Hawks a 13-9 advantage.
• Holding a narrow 19-18 lead, Roger Williams went on a 5-2 run to move within one point of forcing a fifth set.
• Much like in set two, however, the Ducks were not to be denied as they fought off four consecutive match points and six total in the set before grabbing the last three points to win the match.

Match Point (Match Two)

• Stewart set a new career-high with her 17th kill to clinch the match.

Inside the Numbers (Match Two)

• The Ducks were able to out-hit the Hawks .239 to .231.
• Stevens hit .344 and held Roger Williams to .212 in the first set.
• Defensively, the Ducks registered a total of 70 digs compared to 61 from the Hawks.
• Senior Kristen Edmiston also had a career-high in kills with nine.
• Sophomore Kathleen Riegner produced a career-high 51 assists to go along with 11 digs to post her first career double-double. She also added four aces.

Unsung Hero (Match Two)

• Edmiston hit .320 in the match, while also adding three blocks.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Annie McShea)

• "Today was a really great test right off the bat, and I think we passed with flying colors."
• "We were able to make adjustments when we needed to and executed well in very key moments. I'm excited to continue to see this group grow and come together even more throughout the season."

Up Next

• Stevens wraps up play in the Stevens Invitational on Saturday against RV Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m. inside Canavan Arena
• The Blue Jays took home the last matchup between the two schools on Oct. 26, 2018 with a 3-1 victory
• Live stats for each of the matches in the Stevens Invitational are available on StevensDucks.com

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