BALTIMORE, Md. (September 3, 2022)  – Senior Ava Smithing blocked Sydney Fisher's attack to put the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team in front for good in the fifth and deciding set as the Ducks defeated St. John Fisher University 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 15-13) Saturday in a neutral-site match hosted by Johns Hopkins University.

Sophomore Cleo Shannon matched a career high with 11 kills and classmate Sophia Schaefer set a new career best with 10 kills for the Ducks who defeated St. John Fisher for the 15th straight time. 

The Ducks closed out play in Hopkins' annual tournament with a 1-2 record after a three-set setback to Marymount University (18-25, 21-25, 20-25)  in the nightcap. Interestingly, Stevens, St. John Fisher and Marymount finished with identical 1-2 records. The hosting Blue Jays finished with a perfect 3-0 record.

Against the Cardinals, the teams were evenly matched, splitting the first four sets. Stevens dropped the first set 25-20 before winning the second set by the same margin. The Ducks took their first match lead of the season after coming out ahead in the third set via a 25-19 score. The three-time defending Empire 8 Conference champions rallied to win the fourth set 25-19 to force a winner-take-all fifth set. 

In the final frame, it was the Ducks that jumped out in front with Schaefer setting down sets from junior Liz Patterson and sophomore Bailey Axelrad to put Stevens in front 3-1. The second-year outside hitter partnered with junior Meg Dion to block an attack between her two kills. The Cardinals rallied with a four-point run to jump in front 7-4, but the resilient Ducks reeled off a four-point run of their own to reclaim a 10-8.

The back-and-forth play continued until the teams were knotted at 13. With the Cardinals in possession of the serve, a strong net presence thwarted the Cardinals at the point of attack, resulting in Smithing's solo block. The Nashiville, Tennessee native finished with four blocks and would add another four against Marymount. An attack error on the ensuing point handed the Ducks their first win of the year.

The two-hour contest featured 40 ties and 21 lead changes. Axelrad helped control play for the Ducks, registering a career-high 34 digs, which are the most by a Duck since alumna Sydni Horner recorded 36 in a sweep of Haverford on Oct. 15, 2016. As a team, the Ducks also recorded 10 total blocks, with Dion totaling six and Smithing finishing with four.

Delayne Young had 13 kills and Kristen McIntosh added 12 to pace the Cardinal offense, while Emily Brochey finished with five aces.

The victory moved Stevens to 3-2 in five-set matches under head coach Brianna Jones.

Against Marymount, the Ducks found themselves in an early deficit after a five-point run by the Saints. A pair of attack errors and two kills by junior Elle Maggio drew the Ducks to within 10-8. Maggio was efficient throughout the match, setting down 11 kills on 21 attacks without an error (.524), for her 12th career double-digit kill performance. 

An 8-1 run pushed Marymount's lead back to a comfortable margin at 19-10. The Ducks would fight off four set points on a pair of kills by Maggio and one from Dion, but a service error gave Marymount the opening set.

The second set saw Marymount jump in front in the early going, with a service ace putting the Saints in front 4-2. However, the Ducks responded with six straight points, including five with sophomore Nicole Scribner at the serve. Scribner had a pair of aces in the sequence to go along with a kill from graduate student Kathleen Riegner. Riegner had 30 assists across the two matches.

Marymount took advantage of a pair of Stevens attack errors to reclaim control of the set and scored six of the final seven to take a 2-0 lead.

The final set saw Stevens turn in its most efficient offensive performance, committing just five attack errors and recording a match-high hitting percentage of .182, but Marymount served up six aces to close out the victory.

Elissa Munsterman led Marymount with 13 kills and Kaitlyn Doyle finished with five aces. Marymount totaled 13 aces in picking up its first win of the year and evened the all-time series with the Ducks at 1-1.

Inside the Numbers

• The Ducks finished with a season-high hitting percentage in the win over the Cardinals.
• Stevens finished with 79 digs against St. John Fisher, its highest total since recording 88 against Susquehanna last season.
• After St. John Fisher hit a match-high .367 in the opening set, the Ducks held the Cardinals to a lower mark in the subsequent four sets, including a negative hitting percentage in both the second and final sets.
• Both Stevens and St. John Fisher had exactly 52 kills.
• Against Marymount, Stevens held a 32-30 advantage in kills.
• Axelrad finished with 12 digs against Marymount and is leading the MAC Freedom in digs per set, averaging 5.45 per set through opening weekend.

Unsung Heroes

• A trio of Ducks finished with two aces in the victory over the Cardinals: Riegner, Enkhbayar and Patterson. The serving success led to a 10-6 edge in the statistic.

From the Sidelines - Head Coach Brianna Jones

• "I am proud of the way we fought to get the win over St. John Fisher. The match had many ups and downs and we are definitely still working to find our rhythm."
• "We followed that up with a tough loss to Marymount. We didn't execute nor did we play our best volleyball. Excited to get back in the gym and get to work."

Up Next

• Women's volleyball welcomes Wilkes University to campus on Sept. 7 for the MAC Freedom opener.
• The Ducks are 2-1 against the Colonels in the 2000's, but have swept Wiles in both meetings since the teams became conference opponents. 
• Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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