Hoboken, N.J. – In a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom five-set thriller that saw three of the first four sets decided by four points or fewer, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell 3-2 to Lebanon Valley 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 24-26, 17-15 on Tuesday night at Canavan Arena.

Stevens now stands at 14-5 on the season with a 3-1 mark in conference play equal to that of the Dutchmen, who improved to 11-8 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Three service aces, plus a match-opening kill from Parker Adkins had the Ducks up 5-2 early on. After Lebanon Valley twice closed to within a point, four kills from Elle Maggio helped sustain a 9-3 spurt that pushed the lead to 15-8. The Dutchmen responded with an 8-2 burst of their own to close the gap back down to one yet again. The teams traded the next 14 points back and forth, with Stevens taking a 23-22 lead, but a kill, service ace, and block gave the visitors an early 1-0 advantage.

The Ducks grabbed five of the first six and eight of the first 11 points to open the second set, Adkins and Cleo Shannon each registering a pair of kills over the stretch. With the score 10-7, back-to-back kills from Adkins kick-started a 9-3 surge, pushing the Stevens lead out to 19-10. Lebanon Valley trimmed the margin to 19-13, but a pair of kills from Meg Dion, one kill apiece from Molly Harris and Vivian Lisboa, and a pair of Dutchmen errors knotted the match at one set each.

Stevens led 10-8 in the third set before eight straight Dutchmen points opened a six-point cushion that did not shrink below three as the visitors reclaimed the lead in the match. Trailing 8-4 in the fourth, two kills from Maggio bookended two errors from Lebanon Valley, evening the set at 8-all. The teams traded the lead back and forth six more times, with a 23-22 Stevens lead becoming a match point opportunity for the visitors at 24-23. The Ducks held strong, taking three straight points to close the set and force a winner-take-all fifth.

Stevens led 8-5, 10-7, and 12-9 in the fifth, but conceded five straight points, creating two more match points for Lebanon Valley. Once again, the Ducks held strong, rallying with three straight points to set up a match point of their own, but the Dutchmen knotted the match at 15-all, then took advantage of a pair of errors to close out the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Maggio (14), Lisboa (14), Adkins (13), Dion (11), and Shannon (10) all had double-digit kills, the first time this season the Ducks had five players reach that mark in a match; Maggio set a new season-high, while Lisboa matched hers.
• Harris finished with a career-best 58 assists, surpassing 600 for the season in the process.
• Adkins and Harris each finished with double-doubles, Adkins adding 23 digs to her offensive marks for the night and Harris adding 13 digs to hers.

FROM THE COURT
"I thought we were inconsistent tonight and unfortunately that put us on the other side of the two points at the end of the match. Lebanon Valley played really well and their pins were terminal in the big moments. We're going to work on being more consistent and finishing at the end of sets – Head Coach Macon Frey

UP NEXT
The Ducks five-match homestand continues Friday evening when Marymount University makes the trip up to Hoboken for the Duck Challenge Game. First serve is slated for 6 pm..