GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. (Sept. 28, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team continued its stellar play in MAC Freedom competition with its third straight sweep to open the season, this time with a 25-16, 25-20, 25-16 win over Delaware Valley University Tuesday at James Work Gymnasium on the campus of Gywnedd Mercy University.

The Ducks registered a total of 41 kills from 12 different student-athletes and held the Aggies to just 16 total kills and an .068 attack percentage to win their 62nd consecutive conference match and improve to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the MAC Freedom.

Stevens, meanwhile, hit .255 as a team and were led by seven kills on just 12 swings from junior Ava Smithing and six kills apiece by sophomore Liz Patterson and Elle Maggio.

After coming into the contest ranked 14th in all of NCAA Division III in opponents attack percentage, the Ducks improved the number to just .084 to now sit in a tie for 11th in the country. Stevens also now ranks 17th in the nation in total service aces (136) and 26th in aces per set (2.89).

Delaware Valley got a team-high seven kills by Olivia Deffendall and a solid defensive effort from libero Grace Kane with 11 digs as they dropped to 2-8 and 0-4 in conference play.

Defensively, Elizabeth Chu racked up a match-high 14 kills to extend her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit digs to 11.

Volleys and Points

• Stevens came out of the gates strong in the opening set with a 7-1 run that featured two kills by Maggio as well as one each from Maggio and Megan Dion to lead 8-3.
• With the score 10-5, Stevens turned to sophomore Liz Patterson at the service line who delivered in a big way with three consecutive service aces to put Stevens on top 14-5.
• The Aggies were able to climb back to within seven at 19-12 with a 4-0 flurry of their own, but could not get any closer as the Ducks responded by taking four of the next five points thanks to kills by Patterson, Sophia Mains and Dion to push the lead to 23-13.
• With a set point at 24-16, Stevens finished things off with a kill from Dion to take the first set 25-16.
• The second set started similarly to the first as kills from Riley Koehler, Maggie Hodges, Chu, Meghan Elder gave the Ducks seven of the first eight points of the stanza.
• Trailing 11-7, Delaware Valley took its first lead of the match by scoring five straight points, all on Stevens errors to lead 12-11.
• The lead traded hands three more times throughout the set until the two teams found themselves tied at 19-19.
• The Ducks finished the set strong by scoring six of the final seven points capped off by a double block from Cleo Shannon and Elder to win 25-20.
• Early in the third and final set, the Ducks rattled off four straight points with kills from Smithing and Patterson to take a 6-4 lead and did not trail from that point.
• Leading 12-10, Stevens created separation with a 10-2 run that featured a dominant offensive effort.
• In the 10-2 flurry, the Ducks got kills from Elder, Patterson, Maggio (2) and Smithing (3) as well as service aces by both Parker Adkins and Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar.
• Leading 22-15, Elizabeth Banas and Adkins gave the Ducks three of the last four points of the match to win 25-16 and complete the sweep.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens got 41 total assists in the match compared to just 16 for the Aggies.
• The assists for the Ducks came from the usual suspects as Kathleen Riegner produced 21 and Enkhbayar added 15.
• Smithing, Maggio, Banas and Elder all finished the contest with at least three kills and over a .500 attack percentage.
• The 16 total kills for the Aggies were the least Stevens has allowed for an opponent this season.
• Riegner and Adkins tied for the second-most digs in the match for the Ducks with seven each.
• Stevens held an 8-5 edge in service aces and a 6-4 advantage in blocks.
• The third set saw Stevens hit at a much more impressive clip as they had 18 kills, six errors on 34 swings for a .363 attack percentage.
• Sitting atop the conference standings, the Ducks currently lead the MAC Freedom as a team in opponents hitting percentage, assists per set, kills per set, blocks per set and aces per set.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Brianna Jones)

• "What a fun match we had tonight. I was impressed with our effort, and I loved that it was a total team contribution for the win."

Next Up

• The Ducks will be off for over a week before they return to the court Wednesday, Oct. 6 on the road against Wilkes University.
• The two teams have split the all-time series 1-1 with Stevens winning the last matchup in a 3-0 sweep in Hoboken in 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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