Glenside, Pa. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball swept Arcadia 3-0 to stay unbeaten within the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom on Wednesday evening.
The Ducks (14-2, 4-0 MAC Freedom) earned their 14th victory of the season with set wins of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-22.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Arcadia took an early 3-1 advantage in the opening set, Stevens responded with five consecutive points to move in front 6-3.
Ella Boland sparked the run with a kill and service ace before
Kileen McNeill added a kill. The Ducks later extended their lead to 14-8 behind consecutive points from
Alyssa O'Neal, capping the rally off with an ace from
Cadence Sturt. Arcadia answered with a 7-2 stretch to pull within 16-15 but
Julianne Danis halted the run with a kill, and Stevens eventually rebuilt its advantage to 22-17. Arcadia made one final push, scoring four straight to close within 22-21, but
Eva Tarolli put away a kill before the Ducks scored the final two points to secure the 25-21 victory.
The teams traded points early in the second frame before Stevens created some separation. Leading 12-11, the Ducks rattled off five consecutive points behind a trio of Arcadia attack errors, a McNeill kill and a Danis service ace to build a 17-11 advantage. Stevens later stretched the margin to 21-13 on an
Alexa Brucculeri service ace. Arcadia battled back and trimmed the deficit to three at 24-21, but O'Neal closed out the frame with a kill to give the Ducks another 25-21 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Stevens jumped in front 6-3 in the third set after a McNeill kill and Sturt service ace, but Arcadia responded with three straight points to even the frame at six. The Ducks answered with three of the next four, highlighted by a Danis kill and Brucculeri ace, before another Stevens run created separation. With the Ducks ahead 9-8, O'Neal and Danis recorded consecutive kills as Stevens scored four straight to take a 13-8 lead. Later holding a 14-10 advantage, Stevens used a McNeill-Boland block, a McNeill kill and a Tarolli service ace to push the margin to 17-10. Arcadia pulled within two several times down the stretch, including 23-21, but Boland delivered a kill to move Stevens to match point before an Arcadia service error sealed the 25-22 victory and the sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
O'Neal led the attack with 12 kills while adding three block assists.
Julianne Danis contributed nine kills and six digs, while
Kileen McNeill put away seven kills on 11 attempts for a .545 hitting percentage and totaled four blocks.
Alexa Brucculeri directed the offense with 30 assists and added two service aces, while
Cadence Sturt paced the Ducks defense with 11 digs.
UP NEXT
Stevens returns to action on Friday night as they battle Rutgers-Newark at 6:00 pm in Newark, N.J.
