The Misericordia University women's volleyball team opened its MAC Freedom slate with a statement victory over Stevens, sweeping the Ducks, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23, in front of an electric home crowd, Wednesday night on Doc Mould Court. The win marked the first time in program history that MU has defeated Stevens.
Meghan Peters led the Cougars with 15 kills.
Sarah Steeber and
Maggie Duda shared the team lead with four aces apiece.
Jenna Schuda tallied 30 assists while
Keira McCaffrey recorded three solo blocks.
Trailing 11-5 lead in the first set, MU responded with a 10-1 run to flip the momentum and take a 15-12 lead. The rally was capped by three consecutive kills by McCaffrey, Steeber and Peters, sending the Misericordia faithful into a frenzy.
After the Ducks battled back to take a narrow 18-17 lead, the Cougars strung together four consecutive points with kills by Peters and Duda along with a Schuda ace.
The teams traded point for point down the stretch. However, a bad set by Stevens sealed the win for Misericordia, 25-21.
Madison Tullo set the tone for MU in the second set, slamming a ball to the court for a kill. Duda rattled off an ace to give the Cougars an early 2-0 advantage.
After a back-and-forth stretch brought the set to a 10-9 Ducks lead, the visitors put together three-straight points to take a four-point lead. Misericordia stormed back with an 8-0 run, including three aces by Steeber, two Peters kills and a kill and block by McCaffrey.
Already leading 17-14, MU continued its offensive surge with a 6-2 run to expand the lead to seven.
McCaffrey's sixth kill of the evening stifled Stevens' comeback bid as the Cougars took set two by a score of 25-22.
Misericordia jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third set thanks to a pair of Duda aces and another McCaffrey kill.
The Cougars continued to apply pressure on the Stevens defense and grew the lead to 20-15. Determined to stay in the match, Stevens rallied to tie the set at 22.
Peters reclaimed the lead for MU with her 15th kill of the night. Schuda set up Steeber for a kill to set up a match point for Misericordia.
Duda fired off her fourth ace to finish off the historic win for the Cougars.
MU travels to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons, Friday at 6:00.
