HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 16, 2022) – Junior
Meg Dion recorded six kills on eight attempts, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell to Randolph-Macon College 3-0 (21-25, 21-25, 15-25) Friday on the opening day of the 2022 Castle Point Challenge at Canavan Arena.
First-year
Vivian Lisboa set down the first six kills of her collegiate career and sophomore
Cleo Shannon added a team-high seven for the Ducks, who saw their six-match winning streak come to an end in falling to 7-3.
Grace Parker and Bailey Johnson each finished with a match-high 15 kills to lead Randolph-Macon. After falling to the University of Mary Washington in their opening match, the Yellow Jackets have won six straight to improve to 6-1. Friday's match was believed to be the first meeting between the teams.
Dion recorded three kills in the opening set, one in the second and two in the third to finish with a tidy .750 attack percentage. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native leads the team with a .352 hitting percentage and has finished with one attack error or fewer in six of her 10 matches. Dion also finished with a team high two blocks.
Neither side was able to sustain any offensive momentum early in the opening set. Randolph-Macon reeled off three straight points to take a 5-3 lead only for the Ducks to respond with back-to-back points, including a kill from junior
Liz Patterson to pull back within one.
Randolph-Macon appeared to pull with an 8-1 run in the middle portion of the set to take a 17-8 lead. However, the resilient Ducks answered with a 5-0 run of their own, including kills from senior
Ava Smithing and Lisboa and an ace from sophomore
Bailey Axelrad. The Ducks were able to complete their comeback a few points later, tying the set at 20, with kills from Dion and classmate
Elle Maggio and a Randolph-Macon attack error. The comeback bid was short-lived, however, as the Yellow Jackets scored six of the final seven points to claim the opening set.
Stevens started out the second set with four straight points - two courtesy of Patterson kills and one coming on an ace from senior
Enkhsanaa Enkhbayar. The Ducks would carry their lead into the middle stages of the frame, with graduate student
Kathleen Riegner dishing out a pair of assists and serving an ace as Stevens took a 10-5 lead. The lead would swell to six after a Randolph-Macon attack error but a 9-2 run by the guests saw the Yellow Jackets overtake the Ducks 20-19 after a Stevens attack error.
An attack error returned the serve to the Ducks, but Randolph-Macon scored the next four points to reach set point and a kill from Megan Bost closed out the frame. Bost finished with 11 kills as Randolph-Macon saw three players reach double digits in kills.
The final set saw Randolph-Macon take an early lead after an attack error and a Johnson kill. The Yellow Jackets maintain their advantage throughout the frame in earning the three-set victory.
Inside the Numbers
- Randolph-Macon finished with a .324 hitting percentage, while the Ducks closed the match at .173.
- Lisboa and Shannon each had a block.
- The Ducks notched five aces: Axelrad, Enkhbayar, Riegner, Shannon and Patterson
- Riegner matched a season-high by dishing out 16 assists.
- Patterson finished with 12 digs, marking the fourth straight match (and sixth time this season) with double-digit digs.
Unsung Hero
- Sophomore Parker Adkins made her 2022 debut in the third set and notched an ace.
Up Next
- Women's volleyball continues the Castle Point Challenge Saturday with matches against Macalester College and Montclair State University.
- The 2 p.m. matchup with the Scots will be the first meeting between the programs, while the 8 p.m. matchup with the Red Hawks will be the first contest between the Route 3 rivals in Hoboken since 2017.
- Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.
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