Box Score OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Sophomore Annika Schwartz totaled 11 kills as top-seeded Stevenson advanced to its fourth straight MAC Commonwealth Women's Volleyball Championship final with a 3-0 win over No. 4 seed Widener Wednesday night at Owings Mills Gymnasium. The set scores were 25-13, 25-10, 25-7.
The win, the 14th straight for the Mustangs, advances them to Saturday's MAC Commonwealth title contest against second-seeded Messiah, a 3-1 winner over No. 3 seed Lebanon Valley Wednesday. Stevenson will host the final at Owings Mills Gymnasium at 5:00 pm. Stevenson has captured the MAC Commonwealth tournament title in each of its first three seasons in the league.
Schwartz also finished with 10 digs and seven service aces on the evening. Junior Kristen Brooks added eight kills and eight digs, while classmate Kelsey Stave and freshman Moriah Savage finished with five kills apiece. Junior Sara Bollinger handed out 29 assists, surpassing the 1,000-assist mark for the season, while sophomore Deanna Bradbury led Stevenson defensively with 12 digs.
In the first set, Stevenson jumped out to a 12-4 lead following a Widener service error. The Pride scored the next two points before a 6-1 run made it 18-7. A Schwartz kill and a Widener attack error closed out the frame.
The Mustangs hit .382 as a team in the second set, recording 15 kills against just a pair of errors on 34 attempts. Stevenson took control with six straight points midway through the set that made it 18-7, with the run capped by a Bollinger kill. A kill by Savage ended the set.
After the third set was tied 4-4 it was all Mustangs, reeling off 13 straight points to put the match away. Brooks and Schwartz each had a pair of kills during the run, with Schwartz also recording a pair of service aces. Widener scored three of the next four points before seven straight Stevenson points ended the match. The hosts hit .375 in the final frame.
Stevenson hit .301 as a team on the evening, finishing with just eight attack errors, while Widener hit negative in all three sets and had 13 kills and 21 errors on the contest. The Mustangs also posted 14 aces, their fourth-highest total of the season.
Stevenson and Messiah met on September 23 in Owings Mills, with the Mustangs pulling out a five-set victory after the Falcons took the first two sets.
