NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Stevenson University
women's volleyball team saw its 15-game winning streak come to an
end, but quickly rebounded with its 16th victory to finish in
second place at the first annual Baruch Invitational Sunday
afternoon.
The Mustangs (16-1) fell to eventual tournament champion
Colby-Sawyer in their opening match 13-25, 22-25, 25-20, 13-25
before handing Cabrini a 25-22, 29-27, 25-23 loss to finish
the weekend with a 3-1 record.
Sophomore Alex Mercer (Edlersburg/Liberty) was
named to the all-tournament team after totaling 43 kills, 12 total
blocks and six digs while posting a team-best .304 hitting
percentage.
Against Colby-Sawyer in the opener, Mercer totaled 12 kills and
hit .250 while junior Brittany Umetin (Havre de Grace/Mt.
Zion) had 28 assists and 10 digs as one of four Mustangs
to total 10 or more digs.
Junior Danielle Helwig (Ellicott City/Howard)
led the way with a team-high 12 digs while senior Julie
Olson (Spofford, N.H./Keene) added 11 and freshman
Alexa Carney (Towson/Towson) had 10 to go along
with three aces.
The Chargers (7-5) were led by tournament MVP Michelle
Doody's 18 kills, Genny Moore's 31 assists and Taylor
Forsberg's 12 digs.
Defense was again the story for the Mustangs in their final
match of the day against Cabrini as five players totaled 10 or more
digs, highlighted by Helwig's second double double of the season
with 13 kills and 12 digs, both season-highs.
Olson led the way with 29 digs en route to 62 over the four
games in the tournament while freshman Amy Rudolph
(Northeast/Rising Sun), filling in for Umetin, had 29
assists to go along with 17 digs. Rudolph's 29 assists were four
shy of her career-high set versus Goucher set eight days earlier.
Carney added 11 more digs and freshman Paige Norvell
(Newark, Del./St. Elizabeth) finished with seven
kills, 10 digs and three service aces.
For Cavaliers (6-8), Beth Gillespie and Danielle Kulich
had nine and six kills, respectively.
Stevenson returns to CAC play on Tuesday when it travels to York
(Pa.).
