The Misericordia University women's volleyball team improved to 2-0 in MAC Freedom play after sweeping Delaware Valley, Tuesday night at James Work Gymnasium (25-9, 25-15, 25-18).
 
The Cougars extended their winning streak against the Aggies to 13, dating back to 2012.
 
Maggie Duda led MU with 13 digs, with Meghan Peters and Sarah Steeber following behind with 10 apiece. Peters added a team-high six kills as well. Kiera McCaffrey aided the defensive effort with four blocks.
 
Along with her prowess on defense, Sarah Steeber dominated from the service line with four aces.
 
Set one began with a close 3-3 affair through the first serves of the match. From there, the Cougars went on a 7-1 run to go up 10-4 and the lead never went below five points. Thanks to a defensive effort that held the Aggies to four kills and a -.080 hitting percentage, MU outscored Delaware Valley, 22-6, the rest of the set on their way to a convincing 25-9 victory to go up 1-0.
 
The second set began with a slow 3-3 start. Just like set one, the Cougars poured on five-straight points to take the lead for good. The Aggies inched as close as 13-9, but a quick 7-1 MU run put an end to the momentum. Misericordia rode this run to a 25-15 set two win, capped off by a kill from McCaffrey.
 
Set three began as a close back-and-forth battle. Trailing 5-4, the Cougars scored four-straight points on kills from Peters, Jennifer Nicometo and Sarah Kelly to make it an 8-4 contest. Delaware Valley fought back and cut the deficit to 10-8.
 
MU put a stop to the battle with an 8-2 run that featured the team forcing the Aggies to six attack errors, including a block from McCaffrey and Steeber to extend the lead to 18-10.
 
This run was all that was needed for the visiting team to pull away as the closest that Delaware Valley would get to attempting a comeback was 24-18. For the match point, Kelly ended matters with a kill to secure the sweep.
 
Misericordia had a masterful defensive performance, holding the Aggies to just 16 kills and a -.052 hitting percentage, the second time that the team has held an opponent to a negative hitting % this season.
 
The Cougars held a 10-1 advantage from the service line, including a 5-0 margin in the dominant first set. Sarah Journey was second on the team with three aces.
 
Jenna Schuda finished the match with 22 assists.
 
MU will travel to take on Eastern, Friday at 6:00.