Stevens Sweeps Ithaca to Advance to E8 Title Match

Stevens Sweeps Ithaca to Advance to E8 Title Match

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The top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept fourth-seeded Ithaca College in an Empire 8 Conference Semifinal match in Canavan Arena on Saturday afternoon to advance to the championship contest tomorrow at 12 p.m.

The Ducks will play second-seeded Nazareth College who defeated third-seeded Elmira College in the other semifinal match. The winner will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Stevens (27-6) took down Ithaca (16-22), 25-16, 25-20, 25-12, in a match that took just over one hour to complete.

In the first set, neither team performed well offensively - Stevens (.077 hitting percentage), Ithaca (.000) - but the Ducks used six service aces to seize control of the set. Both squads posted seven kills apiece in the opening game.

Senior Samantha Gates recorded all four of her aces in the opening set and dished out six of her 30 assists in the 25-16 win.

The Ducks stepped up offensively in the second set with a .517 hitting percentage on 17 kills in 29 attempts with two errors. Freshman Mary Tobin put down six kills in the set, while junior Katie Hall recorded three.

Tobin finished the contest with a match-best 10 kills to go along with nine digs. Hall hit .556 (six kills on nine swings) with five blocks, four digs and two aces.

In the clincher, there was only one tie early in the set at 7-7, and from there, Stevens ran away with the game on an 18-5 run. Stevens hit at a .360 clip in the set and finished the match overall at .325, compared to .000 for the Bombers.

Stevens sophomore Annemarie Thomas took 11 swings with six kills for a .545 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks. Freshman Christina Sciarra finished with seven kills, a .357 hitting percentage and three blocks. Senior Mary Caulson played an all-around productive match with five kills, six digs, three blocks, two assists and one ace. Junior Kirsten Salmins was the only player in the match to eclipse double-digit digs with 13.

Ithaca freshman Shaelynn Schmidt led Ithaca with seven kills. Classmate Molly Brown set for 11 assists. Hutchinson and senior Justine Duryea each served up a pair of aces. Defensively, sophomore Dylan Gawinski Stern dug seven balls and rookie Breanne Tuohy led the Bombers with four block assists.