HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 13, 2021) – Sophomore
Elle Maggio finished with 12 kills and five blocks, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell to Middlebury College 3-1 Friday in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship at Canavan Arena.
First-year
Cleo Shannon had 12 kills and a pair of digs for the Ducks, who fell by set scores 18-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, in droppeding to 26-6 on the year. Competing in countable, intercollegiate competition for the first time since 2019, the young, but talented, Stevens squad impropon on its 2019 win total by four, capturing the program's second MAC Freedom title
Maggie Wise led all student-athletes with 18 kills and three different student-athletes reached double figures in kills for the Panthers, who improved to 21-5. Middlebury advances to face No. 2 Trinity University Texas in Saturday's second round.
The contest marked the final collegiate match for senior
Elizabeth Chu, who defended 21 digs in her last time on the Canavan Arena floor. Chu wraps up her career in the red and white with 1,720 digs, 257 assists, 134 aces and seven kills.
In a match where the Ducks played excellent defense, Middlebury needed to be perfect in order to advance and that's just what they did. The Panthers committed just 18 attack errors over the course of the four sets, including two in the opening set to help build the Middlebury lead, and three in the fourth, where the Panthers were looking to close the match.
Stevens found itself in an early deficit as Middlebury scored the first seven points of the match. The Ducks worked their way back into the match, scoring consecutive points by first-year
Parker Adkins and Shannon. However, in a match of runs, it was Middleburuy that put together a run at the right time, rattling off a string of six of the next eight points to seize control of the set. Trailing by nine points, the Ducks put together a sequence of four of the next six points to make the set interesting. Unfortunately, Wise set down a ball from Gabbie O'Toole to close out the first period.
The Ducks appeared to right the ship in the second period, finishing with a match-high .364 (18-6-33) attack percentage. In the frame, Stevens built as much as a five-point lead at 18-13 after a
Megan Dion kill. Middlebury attempted to get back into the set, closing to within three, before junior
Ava Smithing knocked down a feed from senior Katheleen Riegner to put Stevens comfortably ahead. Riegner led Maggio four points later to knot the match at one.
The third set, sophomore
Liz Patterson knocked down three straight points to give the Ducks life in the third set before a lengthy Middlebury run handed the guests a six-point advantage. The resilient Ducks responded in kind and scored an ace from sophomore
Madison Sappia brought the Ducks within four. Despite the Ducks pushing the pace, a quick kill from Jane Nelson returned the serve back to Middlebury. The Panthers scored three of the final four points to claim the set.
The final set was a back-and-forth affair with the teams exchanging punch and counterpunch throughout the stanza, featuring three lead changes in the first six points. The Ducks spotted Middlebury a 20-13 lead, before taking advantage of some porous defense, paired with timely hitting.
Patterson set down a kill to draw the Ducks within 23-21 before Jane Nelson posted a kill to bring Middlebury to match point.
Inside the Numbers
From the Sidelines - Head Coach Brianna Jones
- "Sad way to end the season, but it was a hard fought battle with Middlebury. I am proud of our accomplishments this season."
- "Lizzie Chu was a constant key to our success this season, for all aspects of this program. Her legacy will live on forever through the history and richness of Stevens volleyball."
Up Next
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