Box Score ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Stevenson University women's volleyball team overcame a 2-1 deficit to post a 3-2 MAC Commonwealth victory over Lebanon Valley College at Sorrentino Gymnasium Wednesday night. The set scores were 25-16, 17-25, 23-25, 25-10, 15-9. Stevenson has now won 13 straight matches.
With the win, the Mustangs (22-7, 7-0 MAC Commonwealth) clinch the top seed in the five-team MAC Commonwealth Women's Volleyball Championship that begins Monday, October 31. Stevenson has been the top seed in each of the past four championships since joining the conference in 2012, and is shooting for its fifth straight conference title.
The victory also extended Stevenson's MAC Commonwealth regular win streak to 41 matches, with the Mustangs going 41-0 in the regular season since joining the conference. Wednesday's win was just the second five-set triumph during that streak, with the other coming last season against Messiah in a match the Mustangs trailed 2-0.
Lebanon Valley (18-6, 5-1 MAC Commonwealth) saw a six-match win streak snapped as it suffered its first conference setback of the season.
Senior Kristen Brooks recorded her 1,000th career kill late in the fourth set and now has exactly 1,000 kills for her career. She finished with nine kills and 10 digs. Junior Annika Schwartz registered her 10th double-double of the season with 22 kills and 13 digs, hitting .425 on 40 attempts. Sophomore Moriah Savage finished with 15 kills, while junior Lauren Weaver and freshman Victoria Prokic each tallied eight kills.
Junior Deanna Bradbury finished with 20 digs on the evening. Senior Sara Bollinger handed out 26 assists and posted eight digs, as she now stands 13 assists shy of 3,000 for her career. Freshman Julie Nightwine added 23 assists and seven digs.
Jess Attieh led Lebanon Valley with 14 kills. Greta Weidemoyer, LVC's leading hitter, was limited to six kills on .125 hitting, but did hand out 23 assists.
After the Dutchmen overcame a 20-18 deficit to post a 25-23 win in the third set and go up 2-1, Stevenson turned a 7-5 lead into a 17-7 advantage in the fourth set with a 10-2 run capped by a Brooks service aces. Following a timeout, the Mustangs scored five more points to go up 22-7 on another ace by Brooks. An LVC attack error closed out the set.
Stevenson never trailed in the deciding set, breaking a 4-4 tie on a Schwartz kill that started a 4-0 spurt capped by a Savage kill to make it 8-4. A Savage kill closed out the match as the guests scored the final three points.
Trailing just once, at 1-0, in the opening frame, Stevenson jumped out to an 11-4 lead and led 21-16 when it scored the final four points of the frame capped by a Brooks kill. Lebanon Valley limited the Mustangs to their lowest hitting percentage, .085, in the second set as it evened the match 1-1.
Stevenson hit .267 as a team, including .464 in the opening set, while the Dutchmen did not hit above .189 in any set and hit .109 on the night. The Mustangs were slowed by 17 service errors.
Stevenson looks to close MAC Commonwealth play unbeaten for the fifth straight year when it returns to action Tuesday night at Alvernia.
