Stevens falls to Ithaca in NCAA Regional Semifinal

Stevens falls to Ithaca in NCAA Regional Semifinal

Bookmark and Share

Charles O'Brien

POTSDAM, N.Y. (November 11, 2017)  – Sophomore Casey King and senior Emily Singleton each recorded 11 kills, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team fell in four sets (25-20, 19-25, 26-28, 17-25) to Ithaca College Saturday in the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Potsdam Regional semifinal.

Sophomore Sara Hain added nine kills with four blocks, and classmate Shelby Stewart filled the stat sheet for the second consecutive match with seven kills, three aces and four blocks as the Ducks finish the season with a 27-8 record. 

Amanda Cerruti led all players with 17 kills and Regan Stone added 13 kills for Ithaca, who will meet Babson College in the regional final. The Beavers bested hosting Clarkson University in five sets. Ithaca improved to 23-8.

Volleys and Points
  • The closely-matched teams traded points in the opening set, until a Hain put down began a four-point stretch that saw Stevens open a four-point led.
  • Ithaca would close to within two points at 13-11, but a block from Shelby Stewart and King swung momentum back to Stevens.
  • Play would continue to alternate with long rallies and alternating points, until King and Hain converted Julie Greco sets to push the Stevens advantage to 23-19.
  • Back-to-back blocks gave Stevens the opening frame. First, sophomore Taleen Mitchell teamed with Hain to reject a Joelle Goldstein attempt and then Stewart and King put back a Katie Evans attack to win the set.
  • Despite Ithaca grabbing an early led, Stevens jumped ahead 9-6 with Mitchell in control of the serve. The Los Angeles, California native's strong serve kept Ithaca off-balance in the attack, leading to three straight kills and an ace.
  • Stevens would push its lead to four after a Greco ace, but Ithaca rallied behind Evans and Stone, reeling off five straight points to grab a 14-13 lead and force a Stevens timeout.
  • The timeout settled Stevens down as consecutive Stewart aces handed the second-seeded Ducks an 18-15 edge.
  • It was Ithaca's turn to rally after a timeout, using three Stevens errors to spark a seven-point run that opened a 22-18 lead.
  • Back-to-back kills by Goldstein handed Ithaca the second set and tied the match.
  • The third set would ultimately decide the match.
  • It was Ithaca that scored three of the set's first four points, but Stevens scored six of the next seven to take a 7-4 lead.
  • The Ducks would open up as much as a four-point lead before the Bombers slowly chipped away at the deficit, finally tying the score at 18.
  • The teams would alternate the next series of points, but a Singleton kill brought Stevens to the first set point of the stanza. The Tucson, Arizona native hit .391 for the match.
  • Ithaca rallied with two straight points to reach its first set point.
  • It was again Singleton, one of three seniors on the team, converting a Greco set to again draw the teams even, but Ithaca closed the frame out with three straight points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
  • The teams started the final set the way most of the match had been played - trading points and alternating serves over the first 20 serves of the match - and the teams were deadlocked at 10.
  • It was a decisive 7-1 run for Ithaca, during which Stevens make an uncharismatic string of errors, that opened up a 15-11 lead.
  • The Ducks would take advantage of two Ithaca errors to close within 18-16, but Ithaca would go on to score seven of the next eight points to close the match.

Match Point
  • An Amanda Cerruti kill completed Ithaca's five-point run that ended the match.

Inside the Numbers
  • Stevens hit 191 in the match, although the team made seven less attack errors than Ithaca. 
  • The teams combined for 133 digs. Senior libero Sydni Horner led all players with 22 and Ithaca's Tara Stillwell totaled 20. Three Ducks reached double-figures in digs.
  • Ithaca's Caitlyn Floyd led all players with a career-high 54 assists. Greco led Stevens with 36, the 19th time that the Thornwood, New York native recorded 30 or more helpers.
  • Ithaca held the edge in kills and attack percentage, while Stevens accumulated more aces and blocks.
  • The 27 victories in 2017 marked the sixth-highest single-season total for the program and marked the most by any coach in their first season at the helm.

Coach Speak
  • "Ithaca did a really good great job today and brought a lot of offensive power."
  • "It's tough to beat a team of that caliber twice in a season. I think we fought extremely hard and if a few points had gone our way, the match would have had a different outcome."
  • "I'm proud of this team and everything they accomplished this year. The seniors will be greatly missed, on and off the court, but this is a young team and the preparation for next year starts now."

Unsung Heroes
  • For the tournament, Stewart hit .370 (11-1-27) and Hain hit a remarkable .457 (18-2-35).

Up Next
  • The American Volleyball Association will release its all-americans Tuesday, November 14. Stevens has three players eligible for all-american status: sophomores Julie Greco, Casey King and Shelby Stewart.