Stevens vs. Oswego
In the first match of the day, Stevens played against Oswego. The Ducks started off strong, winning the first set. Right side hitter
Heidi Herzog recorded an impressive 9-point service run that pushed Stevens ahead of their opponent. In the second and third sets, the Ducks put up a strong offense and defense. Libero
Kristy Chen defended the opponent's attacks with 6 digs, followed closely by defensive specialist
Rachel Besecker with 5 digs and two assists. Defensive specialist
Janelle Garcia also recorded two digs. Setter
Stephanie McDonough led the offense, setting up hitters
Lauren Kibalo,
Karen Xu,
Amber Johns,
Ariana Martinez, and
Dina Richards for a total of 14 kills throughout the match. Ultimately, Stevens fell to Oswego in a frustratingly close match (25-17, 17-25, 16-18).
Stevens vs. Rochester
In their second and final pool play match, the Ducks faced off against Rochester, who had a strong record going into the championships. Libero
Rachel Besecker and defensive specialist
Kristy Chen were key players in this match, putting up balls for setter
Stephanie McDonough to set up an offense. Defensive specialist
Heidi Herzog also contributed 3 digs. Outside hitter and middle blocker
Lauren Kibalo led the offense with four kills and also recorded two digs. Middle blocker
Amber Johns, outside hitter
Ariana Martinez, and middle blocker/outside hitter
Karen Xu recorded 2, 3, and 3 kills respectively. Right side hitter
Dina Richards also scored 2 kills. Stevens won against Rochester in three sets (25-21, 24-26, 15-9). Their victory pushed the Ducks into first seed following pool play.
Stevens vs. Rowan
As first seed, the Ducks received a bye into semifinals, where they faced off against Rowan, who also had a strong record going into the championships. Stevens started off strong, pushing five points ahead of their opponent. Outside hitters
Ariana Martinez and
Karen Xu led the offense with 8 total kills, followed by middle blockers
Lauren Kibalo and
Amber Johns with 3 kills each and right side hitter
Dina Richards with 2 kills. Middle blocker
Amber Johns also recorded an impressive block. Setter
Stephanie McDonough set up these offensive attacks, recording 12 total assists, and also recorded two digs. Liberos
Kristy Chen and
Rachel Besecker recorded 6 and 7 digs, respectively, followed by defensive specialist
Heidi Herzog with another three digs. Despite their best efforts, Stevens fell to Rowan, 16-25 and 17-25. Stevens ended in third place out of 11 total teams.