Montclair, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team split with Hunter and Montclair State during a Red Hawk-hosted tri-match Saturday afternoon.

The Ducks (8-7) swept the Hawks (25-16, 25-9, 25-11) to begin the day before falling to the hosts in five (15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 14-16) to close it out.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Hunter)
One kill each from Ella Boland and Ella Kraver plus a Molly Harris service ace helped the Ducks claim five of the day's first six points. Hunter worked the margin back down to two points on three occasions, but three kills from Boland and one apiece by Vivian Lisboa and Alyssa O'Neal during a 7-1 spurt pushed the Stevens lead back to 14-6. The advantage eventually ballooned to 10 points (22-12), as the Hawks drew no closer than six the rest of the set.
 
The Ducks again took five of the first six points of the second set on aces by Lisboa and O'Neal, two Boland kills, and another from Kraver. With Stevens leading 13-7, kills by Boland (two), Kraver, Lisboa, and Sarah Bolduc bookended a 9-0 run and all but closed the book on a set the Ducks claimed five points later.
 
With Hunter leading 4-3 early in the third, the Ducks outdid their run from the second set, reeling off a dozen straight points, four coming from Kraver service aces. After Hunter finally got a point to stop the unanswered spurt, Stevens took the next four, going up 19-5. The teams traded points the rest of the way, with another Kraver kill closing the book on the set and sweep.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (vs. Hunter)

• The sweep marked the sixth of the year for Stevens
• Thanks to a .472 mark across the first two sets, the Ducks hit .400 for the match, smashing their previous top mark of the year -- .320 against Susquehanna on September 6
• Alexa Brucculeri finished with 32 assists, her fourth 30+-assist effort of the year
• Kraver finished with six service aces, a career-high
• Lisboa finished with a pair of aces, her fourth straight match and sixth of her last seven with at least two

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Montclair State)
O'Neal had three kills in the first set, Brucculeri added two, and Lisboa notched a pair of service aces, but Montclair State took a 5-2 lead and held at least a three-point cushion the rest of the frame.
 
The Ducks came back strong in the second set. Bolduc had two early kills and Boland added another for a 5-2 lead. With Stevens up 9-7, three kills by O'Neal in a span of four points made it 13-7 and the Ducks did not look back from there. O'Neal, Bolduc, and Boland all had two additional kills down the stretch as the Red and Gray leveled the match at a set apiece.
 
Stevens led 6-2 early in the third, but the Red Hawks responded with a 9-3 run, taking an 11-9 lead. The Ducks got a point back but did not draw within one again until 21-20. After Montclair State countered with the next two, the Ducks made one final run to seize the set, closing to 24-23, but a Montclair State kill put them ahead 2-1. O'Neal and Tarolli each finished the set with four kills.
 
With Montclair State up 5-4 in the fourth, an O'Neal kill and five straight Red Hawk attack errors shot the Ducks in front 10-5. Stevens conceded the following two points, but then took eight of the next 10, pushing the lead to 18-9. Boland (twice), Bolduc, Tarolli, and Brucculeri all had kills down the stretch as the Ducks pushed the match to five.
 
In a wild winner-take-all set, Stevens trailed 8-4, then reeled off seven straight for an 11-8 lead, forcing two Montclair State timeouts during the run. The Red Hawks came back to tie at 12, before an attack error put the Ducks up 13-12. After Montclair State generated the first match point of the day, a service error gave the Ducks new life, but back-to-back attack errors gave Montclair State the win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (vs. Montclair State)

• Brucculeri set a pair of career-highs with 41 assists and 16 digs
• O'Neal finished with a career-high 17 kills and 13 digs for her second double-double of the year
• Bolduc put down 12 kills, her second-highest mark of the year
• Tarolli matched her career-high with nine kills

UP NEXT
Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play resumes for Stevens Wednesday night, October 8, at 7 PM against FDU-Florham from Canavan Arena.
 
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