HOBOKEN, N.J. (Sept. 18, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball ended the Castle Point Challenge with a split on Saturday, defeating Stockton University 3-0 before falling 3-1 against the University of Scranton inside Canavan Arena.

The Ducks (9-2) got double-digit kills in both matches from sophomore Elle Maggio and fellow sophomore Liz Patterson along first-year Cleo Shannon both earned All-Tournament Team honors for their impressive performances over the weekend.

Patterson averaged 2.82 kills per set in the tournament and nearly finished the last contest with a double-double with nine kills and nine digs.

Shannon, meanwhile, came in off the bench and provided a spark with 19 total kills across 10 sets while also adding four blocks.

The first contest of the day saw Stevens take home a 25-22, 31-29, 25-21 victory in sweeping fashion over the Ospreys.

The Ducks were led offensively in the contest by Patterson with 13 kills while Maggio added 11.

Stevens had a shot to close out the tournament with a pair of victories against Scranton but could not hold on after going ahead 1-0, falling 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 25-21.

After setting a new career-high in the first match, Maggio bested it again with 14 in the second on 35 total swings to lead all scorers in the match.

In total, the Ducks closed the tournament with a 1-2 record while the Royals finished 3-0, Stockton went 0-3 and Clarkson University finished 2-1.

Volleys and Points (Match One)

• The Ospreys got out ahead early with an 8-2 run fueled by five Stevens errors to take an early 10-5 lead.
• Trailing 14-8, the Ducks climbed back into the set by rattling off four consecutive points thanks to a pair of kills by first-year Parker Adkins and another from Maggio.
• With the score 17-14, Stevens was able to take the lead for the first time in the set with another 4-0 run, this time with junior Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar at the service line.
• After falling behind again at 19-18, the Ducks were able to take the lead for good when kills from Patterson, Adkins, and Ava Smithing, two double blocks by sophomore Megan Dion and Adkins and a Madison Sappia service ace gave Stevens seven of the final 10 points of the set to win 25-22.
• The second stanza was perhaps the most exciting set of the season for Stevens and was certainly the longest with the Ducks winning 31-29.
• Stevens jumped ahead early in the set with a 5-0 run that featured five consecutive Duck kills, three of which came from Patterson, to lead 7-3.
• On top 8-6, the Ducks went another 5-0 flurry thanks to a kill by Adkins, an ace from Dion and a double block by Adkins and Smithing to move ahead 13-6.
• Stockton answered, however, scoring six straight points of their own after falling behind 15-8 thanks to three kills by Charlotte Leon to cut the deficit back to one.
• The two points traded points back-and-forth for the next few rallies which gave Stevens an opportunity to win the set in regulation up 24-20.
• The Ospreys responded by staving off four consecutive set points to tie things up at 24 and extend the match.
• Keeping the set alive became a theme with Stockton fighting off nine total set points and the Ducks staving off one of their own before Stevens eventually won the marathon 31-29 thanks to Smithing raising up and punishing an over pass to the court.
• Stevens came out hot once again, scoring six of the first seven points of the third set featuring kills by Smithing and Maggio as well as a Kathleen Riegner service ace.
• As they did throughout the contest, Stockton responded, this time immediately with four straight points of their own to make the score 6-5.
• With the match tied at 11-11, Adkins and Smithing helped the Ducks create some separation as they both found the hardwood with kills as a part of a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 lead.
• Stevens turned to Adkins again late for a kill and Dion put down her second ace to force a match point at 24-18.
• It felt as if the Ospreys might pull off another comeback after fighting off three consecutive match points but they could not fend off a fourth as the Ducks eventually won 25-21 to complete the sweep.

Match Point (Match One)

• As they did throughout the contest, Stevens turned to Adkins for the opportunity to end it. The first-year out of Euless, Texas, delivered with her seventh kill of the match to finish things up.

Inside the Numbers (Match One)

• The Ducks were excellent defensively once again against the Ospreys, holding Stockton to a .132 attack percentage. They have now held nine of their 10 opponents under .150 and rank 14th in all of NCAA Division III with a .070 opponents' attack percentage.
• Stevens held a 7-2 advantage in aces and a 45-38 edge in kills in the win.
• The Ospreys were fantastic at the net defensively with 12 total blocks in the match compared to six for the Ducks.
• Enkhbayar let Stevens two-setter system with 18 assists while Riegner had 17 of her own.
• Senior Elizabeth Chu racked up 15 digs to lead the team while Stockton's Sophia Marziello had a team-high 20 digs.
• Adkins filled up the stat sheet for the Ducks with seven kills, four blocks, three digs and an assist.
• It is the first time this season at two Stevens student-athletes (Patterson and Maggio) registered double-digit kills.
• It was Maggio's first career contest with double-digit kills.

Volleys and Points (Match Two)

• The Ducks started out hot in the opening set as a 5-0 run featuring kills from Patterson, Maggio and Smithing pushed the score to 5-2.
• Leading 11-6, Scranton pulled back within one with four straight points of their own highlighted by a pair of aces from Castle Point Challenge Most Valuable Player Caleigh Cox.
• Tied at 17 late in the stanza, Stevens again got an effective run with Enkhbayar at the service line with five consecutive points highlighted by a pair of aces.
• The Ducks closed things out fairly quickly from there, turning to Shannon for three consecutive kills to end the set after going up 22-18 to win 25-18 and move ahead 1-0.
• The second set was a true battle back-and-forth with neither team going on a run of more than four straight in the entirety of the set.
• The Royals took the early advantage up 8-5, but Stevens responded with a 5-1 run featuring a pair of Adkins kills and a Riegner ace to bring the score to 10-9 in favor of the Ducks.
• A 5-1 rally from Scranton gave the Royals back the lead at 16-14 before Stevens rattled off three straight points on kills by Shannon and Adkins to lead 17-16.
• Both teams were able to side-out on 10 consecutive points before the Ducks grabbed back-to-back victories to move ahead 23-21 late.
• As they would all night, Scranton rallied late by scoring the final four points of the stanza to win 25-23 and tie things up at 1-1.
• Much like in set one, Stevens came out of the gates fast by scoring seven of the first nine points of the set to take an early edge.
• In the 7-2 run, the Ducks got kills from Adkins, Smithing and Maggio as well as an Adkins service ace.
• Trailing 15-10, the Royals made sure to keep the match within reach by rattling off four straight points to cut the deficit down to one.
• Maggio ensured stevens would respond in a big way as she put down three kills as a part of a 4-0 rally to bring the score to 19-14.
• The Ducks were able to force a set point on top 24-18, but Scranton would not quit, fighting off six consecutive set points before finishing on their own to win 26-24 and move ahead 2-1.
• The Royals carried the momentum from the end of the third set into the fourth by scoring four straight to open things up. In total, Scranton grabbed 12 consecutive points across the two sets.
• Trailing 8-4, the Ducks made a run of their own with a 6-0 rally fueled by a pair of double blocks from Smithing and Shannon to lead 10-8.
• With the score 20-18 in favor of Stevens, the Royals again turned it on late by winning seven of the final eight points of the match and taking home a 3-1 victory.

Match Point (Match Two)

• Stephanie Margolies finished just shy of double-digit kills but made her last one count as she found the court off an assist from Cox to clinch the perfect weekend for Scranton.

Inside the Numbers (Match Two)

• Stevens out-hit the Royals in the match with a .159-.105 edge in attack percentage and a narrow 49-45 advantage in kills.
• The two teams were nearly identical in aces (8-7), blocks (6-7) and assists (42-48) in a matchup of the well-balanced teams.
• Despite the loss, the Ducks again held their opponent under .150 and have now done so nine times in 10 matches on the year.
• Adkins finished the match with a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.
• Chu produced a team-best 27 digs in the loss while adding three aces to her ledger.
• Riegner, Enkhbayar and Adkins all had a pair of aces to lead the way at the service line for the Ducks.
• Riegner led the way for Stevens with 25 assists while Enkhbayar added 17 on her own.

Unsung Hero (Both Matches)

• Smithing totaled eight kills on just 18 swings for a .333 attack percentage in the first matchup and added four with a team-high five blocks in the second.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Brianna Jones)

• "Within a tough weekend it was fun to walk away with a W in our first game of the day. Our players had a lot of fun and worked hard to take the first win."
• "It was a tough loss against Scranton, but it helps our team understand what we need to work on a build towards the future."

Next Up

• Stevens returns to the court Wednesday against King's College inside Canavan Arena at 7:00 p.m.
• The Ducks have won the only two matchups between the two schools including a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 24, 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

Castle Point Challenge All-Tournament Team:
MVP: Scranton - #15 Caleigh Cox
Scranton - #2 Carah Vitkus 
Stockton - #11 Teleyah Witherspoon
Stockton - #13 Charlotte Leon
Clarkson - #7 Allyson Treichel
Clarkson - #11 Isabelle Crow
Stevens - #19 Cleo Shannon
Stevens - #20 Liz Patterson

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