On October 9 and 12, the women’s volleyball team went up against FDU-Florham and Stevenson University, respectively. The Ducks swept both teams with a score of 3-0, continuing their MAC Freedom play against the Devils, and non-conference play against the Mustangs.
The win against FDU-Florham improved Stevens to 13-4 for the season, with a 3-0 record in MAC Freedom play, while the Devils fell to a 9-10 record for the season. A 5-4 lead by FDU-Florham in the first set was quickly overtaken by a pair of kills made by graduate student Meg Dion. Following her lead, senior Parker Adkins scored four straight points, ending with an ace. After a forced Devils’ timeout, both Dion and first-year Sarah Bolduc scored two points, improving the Ducks’ lead to 6. The set ended with two kills from junior Vivian Lisboa and one from senior Cleo Shannon, ending the first set with a score of 25-16. The second set opened with a pair of kills from Lisboa, leading Stevens to a 5-1 advantage early in the set. Kills from Shannon and Bolduc and two aces served by junior Paulina Miller gave the Ducks a seven-point advantage and forced another Devils’ timeout. For the rest of the set, the Ducks thrived, with four kills from Dion, one from Bolduc, Lisboa, Shannon, and graduate student Elle Maggio. The Ducks kept the Devils from closing the gap, ending the second set with a score of 25-15. Yet again, the Ducks grabbed an early lead in the third set, with Bolduc adding five points to Stevens’ nine. Kills by Shannon, Maggio, and sophomores Kileen McNeill and Liz Pederson gave the Ducks a sizable advantage over the Devils. The set was closed out with points scored by junior Mallory Eder and first-year Alexa Brucculeri, ending the set with a score of 25-12 and the match with a score of 3-0.
The first set against Stevenson opens with the Ducks falling behind but kills from Dion and Adkins give them the lead again. After trading points back and forth, there were kills from sophomore Molly Harris and Shannon, capped off by a service ace by senior Bailey Axelrad. The first set ended at 25-13 in favor of Stevens. The Ducks were on a hot streak coming into the second set, with a pair of kills from Adkins and one point by Dion and Shannon. Despite the Mustangs fighting back, two kills from Maggio and one from Dion and Shannon widened the Ducks’ lead to six. The set ended with three kills by Dion, followed by Adkins with two points, ending with a score of 25-16. The Mustangs came back stronger in the third set, leading in the early stages, but four Stevenson errors gave the Ducks the lead. Four more Mustang errors, three kills from Bolduc, and one each from Lisboa and Pederson closed out the set with a score of 25-16 in favor of the Ducks. The match ended 3-0, improving Stevens to a 14-4 overall record for the season.
The Ducks will be seen again at home on October 18 to go up against Marymount University at 6 p.m.
