September 4, 2010

Byrne Leads Stevens Volleyball To A Pair Of Wins At Haverford Tournament

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Box Score vs. Carnegie Mellon - September 4, 2010
Box Score vs. Haverford - September 4, 2010

HAVERFORD, Pa. (September 4, 2010) – Senior outside hitter Sarah Byrne hammered home 27 kills and collected 20 digs in two matches as the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team moved to 4-0 on the young season with a pair of wins over Carnegie Mellon University and Haverford College at the Haverford Tournament in Haverford, Pa. The Ducks edged out a 3-2 (17-25, 25-16, 27-29, 25-21, 15-7) victory over the Tartans to open the day before scoring a 3-1 (25-18, 15-25, 25-18, 25-13) triumph over the host Fords.

Led by Byrne, five Ducks tallied double-digit kills on the afternoon, with freshman Chrissy Dickinson recording 19 spikes and junior Amethyst Holder and Maggie Kowalska each tallying 18 kills. Senior Maggie Majcher rounded out the list of Stevens student-athletes in double-figures with 11.

Senior libero Julia Reilly held together the Ducks’ defense with 27 digs, while Dickinson added 13 blocks. Senior setter Sara Budar had 43 assists, while freshman counterpart Samantha Gates finished with 35 helpers.

Stevens continues play at the Haverford Tournament tomorrow, Sunday, September 5, with matches against Susquehanna University and Eastern University at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Stevens 3, Carnegie Mellon 2 (17-25, 25-16, 27-29, 25-21, 15-7)
Down 1-0 after a 25-17 first set loss, Stevens rallied to take the second frame, 25-16. The Tartans quickly regained the advantage with a closely-contested, 29-27, third-set victory, but Stevens again battled back, knotting things up with a 25-21 triumph in the fourth stanza before closing out the match with a 15-7 win in the fifth and final set.

Byrne led the way with 19 kills and 16 digs, while Dickinson added 12 kills and five blocks. Budar and Gates finished with 25 and 18 assists, respectively, while Reilly collected 23 digs.

Stevens 3, Haverford 1 (25-18, 15-25, 25-18, 25-13)
Trailing 1-0 following Stevens’ 25-18 opening set win, in which the Ducks hit .344, Haverford notched a 25-15 triumph in the second frame to pull the match even. Stevens responded by taking the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-13, respectively, to move to 4-0 on the season.

Holder led the way for Stevens with 10 kills, while Dickinson added seven kills and eight blocks. Budar and Gates finished with 18 and 17 helpers, respectively – with Budar adding a team-high nine digs.

Senior outside hitter Kelsey Cantwell (Newport News, Va.) led the Fords with 13 kills and seven digs, while junior Laura Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and freshman Haley Lowrance (Phoenix, Ariz.) had 10 kills each. Junior setter Kate Comey (McLean, Va.) had 39 assists, while junior libero Caitlyn Tranquillo (Henderson, Nev.) had a match-high 15 digs.