Box Score

ASTON, Pa. - Sophomore Stephanie Margolies (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) posted a double-double with a game-high 14 kills to go along with 10 digs to lead The University of Scranton volleyball team to a 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-19) win at Neumann on Wednesday night.

With the win, which was the Royals' fifth straight overall, Scranton is now 11-2 on the season. Neumann fell to 5-8 with the defeat.

The opening set of the match was back and forth but came to a head knotted up at 24-all after Neumann forced a tiebreak.

Here, Margolie slammed home a kill to make it a 25-24 lead for the Royals, which was followed up by a set-clinching service ace by senior Eryn Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Westridge School For Girls) to give Scranton the early 1-0 lead.

Neumann, however, bounced back from the tough first set loss to take a five-point win over the Royals in the second set to notch the match up at 1-1.

But, the third and fourth sets were all Scranton.

In the third, the Royals opened a big early lead (13-6), and held off a late Neumann rally to take a three point win and go up 2-1. Then, in the fourth set, the Royals rallied from an early deficit (14-10) to eventually slice the Neumann lead eventually down to 19-18.

Here, the Royals absolutely took control of the match to end it in four sets, as they scored the final seven points of the game to take a 25-19 win. With Scranton up, 24-19, Margolies ended her banner night with a kill to end the match.

Overall, Margolies went into double-figures in kills for the ninth time on the year with her 14 kill performance. It also marked the sixth time on the season that she has gone into double-figures in both kills and digs, as well, with her 10-dig night.

Elsewhere, Boken finished with 10 kills, the sixth time on the year she had posted double-digit kills in a match this season. Junior Carah Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and freshman Erin Keaveney (Collegeville, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) had eight kills, apiece, as Vitkus also ended the night with 10 digs.

On defense, senior Molly Dunfee (King of Prussia, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and freshman Maddie Orth (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) each had 10 digs, apiece, and junior setterCaileigh Cox (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) continued her outstanding play setting up the Royals' attack, finishing with 43 assists and six digs. For Cox, it marked the seventh time on the year she has gone over 40 assists in a game.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Saturday, as the Royals return home to the Long Center to take on Manhattanville at 12 p.m and Stevenson at 4 p.m.

--ROYALS--