WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Stevenson women's volleyball team rallied from a 2–0 deficit to earn a thrilling 3–2 reverse-sweep victory over Catholic on Tuesday evening at Franny Murray Court. The Mustangs fell 19–25 and 21–25 in the opening two sets before responding with wins of 25–19, 25–18, and 18–16 to complete the comeback. Stevenson improves to 3–0 on the season following the non-conference victory.
Set 1:
Stevenson opened the match trading points with Catholic before the Cardinals created separation midway through the opening frame. The Mustangs battled back from a 17–11 deficit, using kills from
Logan Burge,
Maren Zepfel, and
Declyn Tooze to cut the margin to 23–19, but Catholic closed the set with the final two points to take a 25–19 victory.
Set 2:
Catholic again grabbed control early in the second set, building an 11–5 advantage. Stevenson continued to chip away at the deficit behind kills from
Rachel Lenz,
Burge, and
Sydney Salazar, eventually pulling within 21–20 following consecutive Cardinal errors. Catholic responded with four of the next five points, however, taking the set 25–21 and moving ahead 2–0 in the match.
Set 3:
Facing a two-set deficit, Stevenson answered with its strongest offensive performance of the match to that point. After Catholic held a 7–7 tie early, the Mustangs used a 5–0 run, highlighted by consecutive service aces from
Autumn Henry, to take a 12–10 lead.
Stevenson continued to apply pressure, extending its advantage to 20–15 before Catholic attempted to rally. The Mustangs held firm behind kills from
Lillianna Hornickle,
Lenz, and
Salazar, closing out the set 25–19 to cut Catholic's lead to 2–1. Stevenson recorded 11 kills against just four errors in the frame while hitting .250.
Set 4:
Stevenson carried its momentum into the fourth set, quickly building a 7–3 advantage behind kills from
Henry and a pair of early points from
Isabella Terra. Catholic battled back to even the set at 16–16, but the Mustangs responded with a decisive 9–2 run to close out the frame. Lenz and Zepfel delivered key kills during the late surge, while Hornickle added a block to help Stevenson pull away. The Mustangs closed the set on a Catholic attack error, winning 25–18 and forcing a decisive fifth set.
Set 5:
The deciding set featured a dramatic back-and-forth battle from start to finish. Catholic jumped out to an 8–3 lead before Stevenson mounted an immediate response. The Mustangs scored five straight points to erase the deficit, tying the set at 8–8 behind a pair of kills and a service ace.
The two teams continued trading points until Stevenson took its first lead of the set at 13–12. Catholic answered to regain a 15–14 advantage, but the Mustangs refused to let the match slip away. Burge tied the set at 15–15 before Hornickle gave Stevenson a 16–15 lead with a kill.
After Catholic leveled the score at 16–16, Stevenson finished the comeback in emphatic fashion, scoring the final two points on a kill from Henry and another kill from Lenz to secure the 18–16 fifth-set victory and complete the reverse sweep.
Lenz led the Mustangs offensively with 16 kills while hitting .226, while Henry finished with 10 kills and 13.0 points. Burge added nine kills, Zepfel recorded seven kills, and Salazar contributed eight kills. Tooze directed the offense with 24 assists, while Terra anchored the defensive effort with 16 digs. Stevenson finished the match with 77 digs and six total team blocks.
Stevenson returns to action on Saturday, September 12, at the Juniata Tri-Match. The Mustangs will first face Bridgewater (Va.) at 1:30 p.m.
