CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (Oct. 26, 2021) – First-years Parker Adkins and Cleo Shannon both produced new career-highs in kills but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team was unable to hold a late lead in the fifth set as they fell to DeSales University 3-2 Tuesday at Billera Gymnasium.

In a contest to determine the #1 seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament, the Bulldogs were able to knock off the Ducks and hand Stevens its first regular season conference loss since Oct. 5, 2012 and snap a streak of 64 consecutive such victories.

DeSales improved to 16-11 overall and 7-0 in conference play and will now host the semifinal and potentially the finals matchup in the MAC Freedom Tournament if they advance to the championship contest.

The Ducks, meanwhile, dropped to 22-5 on the year and 6-1 in the MAC Freedom. Stevens will still host the semifinal contest in the semis with the chance to host the championship if DeSales drops its match in the semifinal.

Adkins led the way offensively for Stevens as she produced 17 kills and an impressive .324 attack percentage while also racking up 13 digs for her fifth double-double this season. Shannon, meanwhile, was extremely efficient all night as she registered 14 kills on just 25 swings with a single error to hit .520 in the match.

Caroline Garretson had a strong game for the Bulldogs with a match-high 18 kills while hitting .341 and added six blocks and three aces.

Defensively, Elizabeth Chu produced a team-high 28 digs, the most since she had 34 digs in the win over Lebanon Valley College on Sept. 11, 2021. Bailey Axelrad was also solid on defense for Stevens with a career-best 13 digs.

In the fifth and final set, the Ducks held a 12-7 lead and had a match point at 14-13, but could not hold on as DeSales closed the match by scoring 11 of the final 15 points of the set to earn the victory.

Turning Point

• Perhaps the largest point in the match came in the decisive fifth set with the Ducks on top 12-9. DeSales' McKenzie Brady stepped to the service line and delivered a ball that hit the top of the tape and just made its way to the Stevens side of the court to drop for a point. The Bulldogs would go on to use the ace as a part of a 6-1 run that tied things up at 13.

Inside the Numbers

• In total, Stevens hit .210 in the contest while DeSales hit .172. The Bulldogs turned things on late, however, hitting .309 over the last two sets.
• The Ducks won the first set 25-22 and took the third 25-14. In those sets, Stevens hit .253 while holding the Bulldogs to a .102 attack percentage.
• Sophomores Elle Maggio and Liz Patterson both finished in double figures in kills with 14 and 13, respectively.
• The two teams were tied with nine blocks apiece while the Bulldogs held a 12-10 edge in blocks.
• Sophomore Megan Dion was a force at the net defensively with six blocks while Patterson had four and Ava Smithing and Maggio added three apiece.
• Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar led the way in assists for Stevens with a career-high 29 while Kathleen Riegner produced 26.
• Enkhbayar and Dion both had three aces apiece for the Ducks and Chu and Reigner added two each themselves.
• The Ducks held a 62-54 edge in kills, a 60-51 advantage in assists and a 77-59 edge in digs.
• It is the first time this season Stevens has dropped back-to-back matches and is the first five-set loss for the Ducks on the year.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Brianna Jones)

• "This one hurt, I'm not going to lie. But I'm glad we still have the opportunity to bounce back and compete moving forward."

Next Up

• Stevens returns to the court Thursday in the regular season home finale against FDU-Florham inside Canavan Arena at 7:00 p.m.
• The Ducks are 10-2 all-time against the Devils including a 3-1 win the last time the two teams met on Oct. 16, 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.
• The Ducks will honor seniors Chu and Riegner prior to the contest.

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