Stevens sweeps Alfred to return to Empire 8 title match

Stevens sweeps Alfred to return to Empire 8 title match

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Charles O'Brien

HOBOKEN, N.J.. (November 4, 2017)  – Sophomore Casey King recorded 14 kills with only two errors as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept Alfred University Saturday (25-23, 25-9, 25-15) to advance to the Empire 8 Conference Championship match.

Sophomore Shelby Stewart filled the stat sheet with five blocks, four kills and two aces as the Ducks won their second straight game to improve to 25-7. Stevens improves to 13-5 in Empire 8 Championship play.

The Saxons, who reached the league's postseason tournament for the first time, were led by Amber Smith, who totaled six kills and an ace. Alfred fell to 9-21.

Volleys and Points
  • Sparked by its first-ever Empire 8 Championship appearance, Alfred took advantage of early adrenaline to take a 5-2 lead.
  • A Sara Hain kill and a pair of Alfred errors gave Stevens a 10-7 lead.
  • The Saxons took advantage of a pair of Stevens errors to tie the opening frame at 11.
  • Two Alfred errors and a King kill opened a 14-11 lead for Stevens, forcing an Alfred timeout.
  • After the teams alternated the next eight points, a Sarah Raeman kill helped Alfred draw to within one.
  • Stevens grabbed a little breathing room after two Saxon errors another King conversion.
  • Stevens won the first set after securing three of the set's final five points, two coming on King kills.
  • The second set saw the teams battle back-and-forth over the first 13 points, with neither side opening more than a three-point lead.
  • Hain knocked down a Julie Greco set to begin a stretch of 10 straight points by the top-seeded Ducks.
  • During the crucial stretch, Alfred made five errors and the Ducks recorded a pair of blocks.
  • A Smith kill momentarily paused the potent Stevens attack, but the Ducks continued to pressure the Saxons, forcing five errors over the final six points, as Stevens claimed the second set to open a 2-0 lead in the match.
  • The third set began like the first, with Alfred racing out to an early 6-1 lead.
  • Showing a championship resolve, the Ducks slowly chipped away at the lead, finally drawing even at 11. 
  • Stewart converted an Alfred overplay to give Stevens its first advantage at 12-11 and the Ducks would go on to score four of the next five points to seize control.
  • Consecutive kills by senior Emily Singleton and sophomore Taleen Mitchell preceded a King ace as the Ducks opened a 20-13 lead.
  • Heather D'Andrea put down an Aubrey Totsline set to draw Alfred to within six, but Stevens scored five of the next six points to with the final set and move on to the championship.

Match Point
  • A Sarah Raeman attack error completed a 3-0 Stevens run that closed out the match.

Inside the Numbers
  • Stevens forced Alfred into more errors than successful attacks (29-28). The Ducks hit .324, going without an attack error over the final two sets.
  • The Ducks controlled the net, outblocking the Saxons 7-1. 
  • Senior libero Sydni Horner and Alfred's Amber Smith each collected 17 digs.
  • Greco handed out 31 assists. 
  • Hain totaled six kills on 10 attacks without an error. 
  • Four different Ducks hit over .300 in the match.

Coach Speak
  • "Alfred came out fighting and caused to have to really push hard and execute well."
  • "We knew we would just have to be clean and take care of our side throughout the match and as it went on, we were able to do that really well."
  • "Congrats to Alfred on a really awesome season; they have a great future ahead of them."

Unsung Heroes
  • "Our middles were great today. We know that in order to make a deep run in [postseason play] this year, they're going to have to produce and they did just that against Alfred."
  • "[Julie Greco] was able to establish them early, which allows our outsides and [Emily Singleton] to have seams and single-block opportunities, when we did use them."
  • "Our middles are going to be hard to stop throughout this postseason and I'm really excited about that."

Up Next
  • Stevens takes on second-seeded Nazareth College for the league's championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Stevens defeated the Golden Flyers at Canavan Arena in October.