HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Oswego State volleyball team lost two matches on the opening night of the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks Classic on Friday. Oswego (6-4) ran up against a pair of squads that are receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll. In the first match, the Lakers dropped a 3-0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-17) tilt to Stockton (8-2) – who is receiving 21 votes in the latest poll. During the nightcap, Oswego faced the host Ducks (11-1) – who have 36 votes in the current rankings – falling 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-19).

Over the six sets, Meaghan Roefs led with a .318 hitting percentage. The senior captain had eight kills over the two matches, second only to Ariel Murawski's 13. Also finishing with kills were Isabella Winklestine (7), Megan Russell (6), Emma Moriarty (5), Alison Sullivan (4), Jessica Long (2) and Lauren Edwards (2).

Edwards aided in the setting as well, having 17 assists, trailing only senior classmate Lindsey Champitto's team-high 18. Long paced the Lakers in passing, digging 11 attacking attempts. Also in double-digit digs with 11 was Edwards.

Defensively, Russell accumulated seven blocks on four assists and three solos. Sullivan had the next most with five – four on assists – while Murawski (3), Roefs (2), Winklestine (2) and Moriarity (1) combined for eight assists.

Alison Berger had a team-high two service aces on the night, with Murawski and Long each finishing with one.

It was a homecoming of sorts for head coach J.J. O'Connell, who became Oswego's first full-time head volleyball coach after 10 seasons at Stevens. O'Connell took a three-win Ducks team and built it into a perennial Division III powerhouse, amassing a record of 242-75 to go along with seven-straight NCAA Championship appearances, advancing to the Elite Eight in both 2006 and 2007. Since coming to Oswego, O'Connell has begun another rebuilding process, overhauling a seven-win team to a program that has won 20 or more in three of the last four seasons and has had two-straight appearances in the SUNYAC Championship.

Oswego continues with a pair of battles at the Ducks Classic on Saturday, starting with Arcadia at 1 p.m. and finishing at 3 p.m. with New York University.