New Paltz, N.Y. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team reeled off its ninth and 10^th straight wins with a pair of four-set wins over New Paltz and Drew in Saturday's tri-match.

The Ducks (25-6) topped the Hawks 30-28, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15 and rallied from a first-set defeat for a 21-25, 25-18, 25-10, 25-21 win over the Rangers.

HOW IT HAPPENED – New Paltz
New Paltz registered five of the first seven and seven of the first 10 points, but back-to-back kills from Elle Maggio and Cleo Shannon started a 6-2 run capped by another Shannon kill and Maggio service ace that knotted things at nine. The teams traded the lead back and forth, a 12-10 Stevens advantage becoming a 14-12 New Paltz lead, before Stevens rattled off six straight for an 18-14 lead, all six of those points coming on Hawks' attack errors. The Ducks eventually worked their way to a double set point at 24-22, but the Hawks rallied to tie. Stevens then fought off three New Paltz set points at 26-25, 27-26, and 28-27, finally closing out the set with kills from Meg Dion and Shannon, plus a Hawks' attack error.

Stevens grabbed four of the first five points in the second set with a pair of Vivian Lisboa kills sandwiched between two New Paltz attack errors. At 8-6, Shannon recorded three kills over a stretch of five points for an 11-8 Stevens lead. After ties at 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16-all, the Ducks answered two straight from New Paltz with five straight courtesy of kills from Shannon and Eder plus a trio of Hawks' attack errors for a 21-18 lead. Stevens did not concede the lead the rest of the set.
New Paltz reeled off runs of five straight and nine straight points in the third set, the latter turning a 15-12 deficit into a 21-15 lead. The Ducks rallied to close to 23-21, but the Hawks held on to extend the match to four.

Two Shannon kills bookended a 4-0 run to start the fourth set. Three attack errors and a Maggio service ace ran the lead to 8-1. Stevens grew the lead to 13-5, then New Paltz twice closed to five (14-9 and 17-12), but kills from Maggio and Dion started a run of four straight Stevens points that pushed the lead up to nine; New Paltz did not draw closer than that the rest of the way, Vivian Lisboa closing out the match with kills for the Ducks' final two points.

HOW IT HAPPENED – Drew
As was the case in the New Paltz match, the Ducks went down 5-2 in the first set. Three Rangers' errors plus Axelrad and Lisboa kills drew Stevens even at 7-7, but Drew responded with five straight and 11 of 14, opening an 18-10 advantage. Sarah Bolduc went on a tear, notching three kills and a service ace during a 6-2 spurt that pulled Stevens back within four. The Ducks eventually pulled within three on a pair of occasions, but the Rangers held off the charge to take the opening set.
Stevens struck for the first seven of the second set behind five Drew attack errors, plus kills from Bolduc and Molly Harris. With the score at 9-3, Stevens got kills from Ella Boland, Shannon, Lisboa, and Bolduc pushing the margin out to 14-6. After five straight Drew points shrunk a 19-8 Stevens lead to 19-13, kills from Dion and Boland slowed the run and kept the Ducks comfortably in front. Drew eventually worked its way back to 23-18, but a Bolduc kill and attack error leveled the match at a set apiece.

Attack errors continued to plague Drew early in the third, with four leading to a 6-1 Stevens lead. Two kills from Shannon, one from Boland, and a pair of Raeann Baker service aces made it 11-2. At 15-5, two Lisboa service aces, a Bolduc kill, and two more Drew attack errors put Stevens up by 15. Kills by Bolduc, Boland, and Shannon paired with an attack error closed out the set for a 2-1 Stevens lead.

The two sides traded the lead twice and tied five times in the early stages of the fourth, Drew eventually taking a 13-10 lead. Three straight kills by Bolduc, Harris, and Shannon followed by a Bolduc service ace pushed Stevens out in front 14-13. After Drew tied it, Shannon and Boland each registered two kills, and Paulina Miller notched three straight service aces for a 21-15 lead. Drew closed to 21-19, but a Lisboa kill, Axelrad service ace, Drew service error, and Bolduc kill closed out the four-set win and the 2-0 day for the Ducks.


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Vs. New Paltz)

• Shannon had a match-high 13 kills on a .440 hitting percentage, adding five block assists. The senior surpassed 1,000 career kills in the second set.
• Lisboa had 11 kills and a match-high six block assists.
• Bailey Axelrad paced the defense with 24 digs.
• Molly Harris had the Ducks' lone double-double of the match with 30 assists and 10 digs.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (vs. Drew)

• Bolduc had an 11-kill, 12-dig double-double
• Boland finished with a match-high 14 kills, nearly matching her season total of 16 entering the day.
• Liz Patterson dug out a team-best 15 Drew attack attempts.
• Dion finished with eight kills, two solo blocks, and three block assists.

FROM THE COURT (Head Coach Macon Frey)

• "I thought our team did a great job battling against two really competitive and scrappy teams. We were really challenged in our serve receive and to earn our points. We are excited and looking forward to a great week of conference playoffs next week!"

UP NEXT
The Ducks resume their pursuit of a fifth straight MAC Freedom Championship Wednesday at 7 pm from Canavan Arena against Lebanon Valley in the semifinals of the conference tournament.