SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2021) – Four different student-athletes produced double-digit kills for the first time this season, but it was not enough as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell 3-1 on the road against Susquehanna University Friday at the River Hawk Classic.

The Ducks fell 16-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-27 to snap a five-match win streak and drop to 14-3 overall on the year. Susquehanna, who received votes in the lasted American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 poll, improved to 12-5.

First-year Cleo Shannon led the way for the Ducks with 12 kills in the match while first-year Parker Adkins and sophomores Liz Patterson and Elle Maggio all had 10 apiece.

Adkins was solid all over the court in the defeat as she registered her third career double-double with 16 digs to go along with those 10 kills. Junior Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar joined Adkins with 20 assists
and 11 digs to produce a double-double for the first time in her career.

Susquehanna, meanwhile, got a match-high 13 kills from Rosina Esposito and doubled up Stevens in the block column with a 12-6 edge while also holding the Ducks to a season-low in both aces (6) and attack percentage (.119).

Stevens was solid on the defensive side of the ball as they held the River Hawks to a .156 attack percentage and racked up a season-best 88 digs in the match led by 24 from senior Elizabeth Chu.

Volleys and Points

• The opening set saw the River Hawks jump ahead after falling behind 4-3 with a 6-0 run highlighted by three kills from Esposito.
• After the Ducks climbed back within two at 11-9, Susquehanna was able to create breathing room by scoring five straight points on two kills, an ace and a block to make the score 16-9.
• The River Hawks swelled the lead to as many as eight at 20-12 before finishing things off 25-16, scoring the final four points of the stanza on four Stevens service errors.
• After trading points back-and-forth for the beginning of the second set, the Ducks were able to create separation for the first time in the match with a 5-1 run that featured two kills from Adkins and one apiece from Madison Sappia, Ava Smithing and Shannon to bring the score to 12-6.
• On top 15-11, Stevens delivered the knockout punch of the set with a 5-0 run capped off by an Enkhbayar ace and a Shannon kill to make the score 19-11.
• The River Hawks were able to claw back to within five at 20-15, but the Ducks slammed the door with a 5-0 run that featured two more kills from Shannon, another by Adkins and aces from both Sappia and Megan Dion.
• Susquehanna jumped out to an early lead once again in the third set by grabbing five of the first six points on three Stevens errors.
• Trailing 12-8, the Ducks put down five consecutive kills to take the lead for the first time in the set 13-12.
• With the score 16-15 in favor of Stevens, the River Hawks re-took the lead when they rattled off three straight points and extended the edge to 22-18 with another 3-0 run as they looked poised to move ahead 2-1.
• The Ducks responded with a 3-0 run of their own to cut the deficit down to one at 22-21, but Susquehanna had an immediate answer as they grabbed the final three points of the stanza to win 25-21.
• It was Stevens who raced out to an early lead in the fourth and final set as they used two Adkins kills and three River Hawk errors to take an early 5-1 edge.
• After Susquehanna cut things back down to a one-point game at 7-6, the Ducks re-extended the lead with a 4-0 run thanks to a pair of Dion aces as well as kills from Adkins and Shannon.
• Stevens was able to keep the River Hawks at arms-length for some time and found themselves up 19-13 looking to for a decisive fifth set.
• Susquehanna had other plans, though, as they used an 8-1 run that featured three kills from Amanda Gore to re-take the lead at 21-20.
• The Ducks did not go away as they responded with a 4-1 run of their own thanks to kills from Adkins, Patterson and Maggio to make the score 24-22 and force a set point.
• The River Hawks proved to be too much, however, staving off back-to-back set points and winning five of the final six points of the set to take home the 27-25 set win and a 3-1 overall match victory.

Match Point

• Kody Dillon stepped to the service line with Susquehanna on top 26-25 with their first match point opportunity and promptly delivered a huge ace to seal the win.

Inside the Numbers

• Maggio was the most efficient attacker of the night for Stevens with a .250 hitting percentage.
• Kathleen Riegner and Enkhbayar split the setting duties and combined for 39 assists while Chu added five of her own.
• Patterson finished the match with a team-high five blocks while Ava Smithing added three of her own.
• The Ducks held an advantage in several offensive categories including kills (52-41) and assists (48-34).
• The .153 attack percentage was the second-highest Stevens has allowed in a match this season. The Ducks now have an opponents' hitting percentage of .087 this season which still ranks inside the top-15 in all of NCAA Division III.
• The win for Susquehanna avenges the loss Stevens handed the River Hawks in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2019 to end their season.
• After committing a season-low eight errors in the sweep of Wilkes Wednesday, the Ducks had 33 errors on the night, the second-most this season.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Brianna Jones)

• "That was a well-fought match against a very good team. I am very proud of the way our team played, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Looking forward to getting back to action tomorrow."

Next Up

• The Ducks conclude play in the River Hawk Classic with a pair of matches Saturday.
• First, Stevens takes on the University of Rochester at 1:00 p.m. before facing off with York College of Pennsylvania at 3:00 p.m.
• Stevens has won six of the last eight matchups against Rochester, including a 3-0 sweep the last time the two teams played in on Oct. 29, 2016.
• The Ducks hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series against York with the last win coming on Sept. 14, 2012.
• Live stats and video for both matches will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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