Hoboken, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team won a fifth straight MAC Freedom Championship in a five-set thriller against Misericordia Saturday afternoon from Canavan Arena.

Stevens took the first two sets in convincing fashion (both 25-13), dropped the third and fourth (18-25, 22-25), then rallied from a series of deficits for a 16-14 fifth set.

The Ducks improved to 27-6 for the year; Misericordia's season ends with a 25-9 mark.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Elle Maggio, Meg Dion, and Parker Adkins all had kills as Stevens took four of the match's first five points. An Ella Kraver ace, a second kill from Maggio, and kills from Vivian Lisboa and Adkins made it 8-2. The teams traded the next eight points, working the score to 12-6. An attack error from the Cougars followed by a Sarah Bolduc kill forced the first timeout of the day from Misericordia. The visitors worked the deficit back to six with the first two points out of the timeout, but Bolduc got those two right back with an ace backed up with a service ace. After a Parker Adkins kill, Maggio added another kill, then teamed up with Lisboa for a double block and a 19-9 lead. Down the stretch, Maggio, Adkins, Shannon (twice), and Bolduc all had kills to close out the set.

The Ducks early domination carried into and throughout the second set. Shannon started the scoring with a kill, then joined forces with Lisboa on a double block for the first two points. After a Molly Harris service ace, a Lisboa kill made it 4-0. Misericordia sandwiched a kill between a pair of errors before a Bailey Axelrad service ace and Bolduc pushed the lead to 8-1 and drew the first timeout of the set from the Cougars. Lisboa notched another kill out of the timeout, before Misericordia strung together three straight points, trimming its deficit to 9-4. Once again, the team traded points with the score (again) settling at 12-6 Stevens. From there, Bolduc and Dion notched back-to-back kills, Misericordia recorded back-to-back errors, Bolduc added a kill, Alexa Brucculeri had back-to-back aces, and Bolduc (out of Misericordia's second timeout of the set) notched another kill, capping a run of eight straight points for the Ducks. Misericordia worked its way back to 22-12, but drew no closer, as Stevens took a second straight 25-13 set.

Misericordia worked its way back into the match in the third. The Cougars held early leads of 3-2, 4-3, 6-4, and 10-9. After forcing Stevens' first timeout of the match at 11-9, a kill and back-to-back aces forced another Ducks' timeout at 15-10. After its deficit grew to nine (21-12), Stevens worked its way back to 24-18, but Misericordia closed out its first set of the day with a kill.

The comeback attempt continued in the fourth set with the Cougars taking the first three and five of the first six points. Shannon and Dion notched kills as the Ducks worked the score back to 5-4, then after Misericordia pushed the margin back to 8-4, Dion and Maggio cut it right back to one with back-to-back assisted blocks. Again, Misericordia maintained the lead, growing it back out to 13-8, forcing Stevens' second timeout of the set. The Cougars maintained at least a four-point cushion until the Ducks climbed back to 19-16, drawing a Misericordia timeout. Cleo Shannon brought a boisterous Canavan Arena crowd to its feet with a big kill for 19-17, but despite pulling within two points on four (additional) occasions, the Ducks drew no closer, as Misericordia leveled the match at two sets apiece.

In the fifth, Shannon and Bolduc notched a pair of early kills, as the teams battled to ties at 2-all, 3-all, 4-all, and 5-all. Misericordia took an 8-5 lead, but back-to-back kills from Maggio got the Ducks right back in it. Misericordia answered back, opening a 12-8 lead, but an attack error and Axelrad service ace halved the deficit. Down 13-11, Dion and Bolduc joined forces for a double block, drawing a Misericordia timeout. After a Lisboa ace and Dion/Shannon double block, the Ducks had their first championship point, but Misericordia kept the match going with a kill. After a Shannon kill made it 15-14, the Cougars' second attempt to continue the match ended with an attack attempt sailing mere inches wide and the Stevens' bench sprinting on the court in celebration of another conference title.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stevens has won every MAC Freedom Championship contested since it joined the conference prior to the 2019-20 season.
• The team's 27 wins are its most since the 2017 team also won 27.
• The Ducks improved to 10-0 all-time against Misericordia.
• The team surpassed 2,000 digs for the season for the first time since the 2018 team finished with 2,018.
• Maggio was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, totaling 17 kills and eight block assists across the semifinals and championship.
• Liz Patterson had 24 digs, her second-highest total of the season.
• Dion had seven kills and seven block assists

FROM THE COURT (Head Coach Macon Frey)
COMING SOON!

UP NEXT
The Ducks will play in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time since 2014 and will know who they face after the selection show on Monday. Time, opponent, location, and date are TBD. Links for live stats and live video will be posted to stevensducks.com as they are made available.