Women’s volleyball was alive and well this weekend as the Violets played double-headers at the Ducks Classic, hosted by the Stevens Institute of Technology this Friday and Saturday.

Friday saw the Violets — who entered the Classic with a 6-6 on the season — kick things off against 8-5 Kean University. The Violets enjoyed a sweep of the Cougars in straight-sets coming away with impressive wins 27-25, 25-19, 25-18. A pair of outside hitters, sophomore Alexis Jackson and freshman Shelby King, were instrumental in the win, as they led all players with 10 kills. Freshman middle blocker Patricia Stirb was close behind them, adding nine of her own. Freshman setter Daryl Mitchell dished out 36 of the team’s 39 assists.

Later that night the Violets were back at it against Endicott College, where their earlier success did not carry over. The Violets fell in straight sets, though their losses were all very close, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24. The Gulls entered the match with a 7-5 record. Despite the tough loss, Jackson remained positive that these tournaments will be learning experiences for a team getting contributions from freshmen and sophomores.

“We just need to work on consistently having perseverance to take the game,” Jackson said. “But we are a young team and that develops with time so I have high hopes for our group of girls.”

Saturday started off with a game against Arcadia University, where the Violets came away with a commanding 3-0 victory. In the first set, NYU came out of the gates strong, quickly gaining an 11-3 lead, though the Knights came battling back to even the play at 14. The tension was short-lived, however, as the game came to a close. Soon thereafter, the Violets came out victorious. Throughout the second game, the Knights and Bobcats kept pace with one another. Ultimately, it was NYU who won the battle, and the war, against the Knights, when they closed out the match 25-16.

The final game of the weekend saw the Violets take on Stockton University. The girls struggled to keep up against the Ospreys as they lost straight sets, a trend of the weekend. The first game was as close as it got, with the Violets losing 25-22. They were outplayed in nearly every way in the second game, losing by a lopsided 25-7. It was a sour end to a fairly competitive all-around tournament as the girls closed out the game with a 25-18 loss.

“I think we made a lot of progress this weekend,” Stirb said.  “We were able to implement the things we worked on this past week during practice into our games. Overall, we played well and we’re looking to keep improving.”

After such an inconsistent Ducks Classic, the Violets still left with a .500 record for the weekend and the season in general. They’ll be back in action at Baruch College next weekend, looking to finally get over the hump and own a winning record.

A version of this article appeared in the Sept. 21 print edition. Email Rachel Ruecker at [email protected].