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Kowalska, Reilly Lead Women's Volleyball To Win Over Johnson & Wales In Opening Round Of NCAA Tournament
Contact: Ben Badua
Files associated with this release:
Box Score vs. Johnson & Wales - November 12,
2010
Links associated with this release:
NCAA
New York Regional - Tournament Homepage
NCAA
Tournament Video: Post-Game Interview with Kowalska, Dickinson,
Reilly
NCAA
Tournament Video: Match-Point Against Johnson & Wales
NCAA
Tournament Video: Third-Set, Set Point
NCAA
Tournament Video: First-Set, Set Point
NEW YORK, N.Y.
(November 12, 2010) – Sophomore standout Maggie
Kowalska, recently named to the AVCA All-New York region team for
the second-consecutive season, notched a match-high 17 kills as the
Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team
outlasted Johnson & Wales University, 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-18,
22-25, 15-8), in the opening round of the New York Regional held at
the Coles Sports Center in New York, N.Y.
Senior Julia Reilly became just the second student-athlete in
program history to surpass the 2,000 dig plateau with a match-best
15 digs, while fellow senior Maggie Majcher had 14 kills and 10
digs in the win. Freshman Chrissy Dickinson finished with nine
kills and four blocks, while junior Amethyst Holder tallied seven
kills and seven digs. Stevens’ senior setter Sara Budar
collected a match-high 43 assists while directing the Ducks
attack.
Johnson & Wales junior middle blocker Audrey Warren
(Havermill, Mass.) led the Wildcats with nine kills, while
fellow junior Abby Reedy (Cincinnati, Ohio) had
seven kills. Seniors Catherine Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto
Rico) and Nikki Balchunas (Brockton,
Mass.) each finished with six kills, with Balchunas adding
12 digs. Freshman libero Giselle Cram-Ortiz (Vega Alta,
Puerto Rico) recorded a team-high 15 digs, while Bravo
dished out 21 helpers in the loss.
With the win the second-seeded Ducks advance to the second round
of the New York Regional, where they will face the third-seeded
United States Coast Guard Academy which defeated sixth-seeded Roger
Williams University, 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19) in their
tournament opener. Tip-off at the Coles Sports Center is set for
4:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 13.
Set 1: Stevens
25, Johnson & Wales 14
With the first set knotted at three, Kowalska
tipped it over the Wildcats frontline to give Stevens an early 4-3
edge. Ahead 7-6, a Dickinson kill coupled with a Wildcats error
gave the Ducks a three-point lead. Still up three at 12-9, Majcher
found a crease in the Johnson & Wales defense before Kowalska
put away back-to-back spikes to stretch the Stevens advantage to
five – forcing a Wildcats’ timeout.
Kowalska and Majcher notched two-straight kills coming out of the
break making it 17-9 before Bravo snuck a ball inside the left
baseline to momentarily quell the Ducks’ run. Trailing 19-12,
the Wildcats surrendered consecutive points on a Holder kill and a
ball-handling error, as Stevens upped the margin to nine. Up 24-14,
Holder notched an ace, sealing the Ducks’ first-set win.
Set 2: Johnson
& Wales 25, Stevens 22
Trailing 4-3 in the early going, the Ducks’
Michelle Plotzker served up an ace to knot the set. The Wildcats
responded with a 5-1 run to take a 9-5 lead before an attack error
slowed the Johnson & Wales surge. Despite the setback, Johnson
& Wales would continue their hot-streak, reeling off three
unanswered points to force a Stevens’ stoppage.
Stevens battled back within five after the break, trimming it to
15-10 before a Majcher ace pulled the Ducks within four. A Kowalska
kill and block minutes later would make it 16-13 before Holder
hammered home a spike to cut the deficit to two. Keeping the
momentum going, Kowalska then notched another kill to slice the
lead to one.
After tying the set on a ball-handling error, the Ducks took the
lead, 17-16, on another Wildcats’ attack error. Johnson &
Wales responded by mounting a 5-1 run, kick-started by a Warren
kill, going back on top, 21-18, before a Ducks’ timeout.
Down 22-19, Majcher put away her fourth kill of the afternoon,
bringing Stevens within two. Still down two at 23-21 following
another Majcher spike, Plotzker powered a ball past the Wildcats
block to make it 23-22, but Johnson & Wales would tally the
final two points of the set to even the match at 1-1.
Set 3: Stevens
25, Johnson & Wales 18
Hoping to take a 2-1 match edge, Johnson &
Wales raced to an early 7-5 advantage in the pivotal third set. The
Ducks answered by rattling off seven-consecutive points capped off
by back-to-back Dickinson kills. Ahead 12-8, Dickinson put away a
cross-court kill, just sneaking it inside the left sideline to
increase the Stevens lead to five.
Down six at 17-11, the Wildcats tallied two-straight points to
pull within four, but Kowalska hammered her tenth and 11th spikes
of the day to put the Ducks up 19-14. Up 22-16 after a Johnson
& Wales error, Majcher put away her eighth kill of the day to
go back up five before the Ducks closed out the set with a 25-18
third set win.
Set 4: Johnson
& Wales 25, Stevens 22
Down 4-1 early, the Ducks notched three-straight
points to pull even at 4-4. Hoping to stay alive, Johnson &
Wales responded with six unanswered points to go up 10-4. Still
down six at 15-9, Majcher tipped the ball over the out-stretched
hands of a pair of Wildcat blockers, making it a five-point
set.
Trailing 18-13, freshman Mary Caulson notched back-to-back points
before a Majcher ace cut the Ducks’ deficit to two. Down
21-17, Kowalska notched a kill before another Caulson spike –
just inside the endline – once again made it a two-point set.
Still up a pair of points at 24-22, Bravo notched a set-clinching
kill to send the match into a fifth-set tiebreak.
Set 5: Stevens
15, Johnson & Wales 8
Budar got the Ducks off to a good start in the
tiebreak, recording an ace to put the Ducks up early. Knotted at
1-1, Majcher put away a cross court kill to put Stevens back on
top. Kowalska then gave Stevens a 3-1 edge with her 12th kill of
the day before a Wildcats error upped the Ducks’ margin to
three.
Kowalska would hammer home another spike, making it 5-1, before a
Stevens’ attack error trimmed the margin to three. A Holder
kill coupled with a Johnson & Wales error then spurred a 3-0
Ducks run that made it 8-2. Three-straight Johnson & Wales
points pulled the Wildcats within three before two Dickinson kills
made it 10-5 Stevens.
Minutes later, Dickinson again found a hole in the Johnson &
Wales defense to make it 11-6 before a Holder ace upped the
Ducks’ lead to six. Majcher would then tally a spike to put
Stevens within one point of the victory before a Wildcats attack
error sealed the win.
