HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team, No. 2 in the MAC Freedom Tournament, swept No. 3 DeSales in the semifinals Wednesday (25-18, 25-15, 25-23), advancing to Saturday's championship match against the top seed Misericordia.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sarah Bolduc had a pair of early kills for Stevens (21-9) as the teams went back and forth, the score eventually settling at 8-8. Kills by Vivian Lisboa, Alyssa O'Neal, Ella Boland, plus a Molly Harris service ace put the Ducks up 12-8. Kills by O'Neal, Lisboa, and Boland in a six-point stretch kept the Ducks comfortably in front, 17-12. The teams traded the next six points, DeSales inching to within 19-16, but two more O'Neal kills ignited a 5-0 run that put the Ducks at set point, with Lisboa closing it out with a kill three points later.
 
Kills by Bolduc, Tarolli, and Boland put the Ducks up 3-1 in the second. DeSales tied at 3-3 and 5-5, but kills from Bolduc and O'Neal and back-to-back Bulldogs attack errors put Stevens up 9-5 and started an extended 11-3 run that also featured kills from Tarolli and Lisboa and three additional DeSales attack errors. Stevens kept DeSales at bay the rest of the set, maintaining at least a five-point lead, with kills by O'Neal, Harris, Bolduc, and Tarolli (twice) putting Stevens on set point, which Brucculeri put away, catching the Bulldogs by surprise with a setter dump.
 
The third set started with four lead changes over the first 11 points, but three DeSales attack errors and a Tarolli kill turned a 6-5 DeSales lead into a 9-6 advantage for Stevens. DeSales pulled to within 10-9, but O'Neal, Bolduc, and Lisboa notched a kill each, extending the Ducks' lead back to 14-9. DeSales rallied to tie at 14, then 15, then 16, but two attack errors, an Ella Kraver service ace, and Tarolli kill put the Ducks back up four, 20-16. DeSales made one final charge, tying the set at 22, but a Lisboa kill, attack error, and another setter dump, this one from Harris, clinched the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stevens extended its MAC Freedom Tournament winning streak to 11 consecutive matches dating back to the team's first season in the conference in the Fall of 2019
• O'Neal powered the offense with 12 kills & eight digs, with Bolduc adding nine kills
• Lianna Schmieder paced the Ducks defense with 22 digs while adding six assists and three aces
• Brucculeri and Harris combined for 34 assists, with Harris adding seven digs

UP NEXT
The Ducks face the top seed Misericordia in Dallas, Pa. at 4:00 pm, with a berth to the NCAA Tournament and the MAC Freedom automatic bid on the line.

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