MADISON, N.J. – In a final tune-up before the Landmark Conference Championship tournament, the Drew University women's volleyball team came away with a tri-match split in its regular-season finale on Saturday in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Rangers opened with a tight 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22) victory over Rowan University that included 38 ties and 16 lead changes. In its second match, Drew gave a strong Stevens team a battle but lost 3-0 (25-12, 30-28, 25-23).
 
Versus Rowan, sophomore Inaya Stanford turned in a stellar showing, throwing down 12 kills while making just one error on 15 swings for a .733 hitting performance. Sophomore Teeya Desgoutte posted 16 kills, 13 digs, and three blocks while classmate Abigail Pereira chipped in with eight kills. Freshman Alyssa Rachwal registered 38 assists and 11 digs while juniors Lauren Gaza and Kiara Vasquez contributed 35 and 20 digs, respectively.
 
Drew led 21-18 in the opening set before the Profs (9-17) rallied late, finishing on a 9-4 run.
 
Neither side led by more than three in an extremely close second set, and it was tied 19-all before Desgoutte and Stanford gave the Rangers the lead for good with back-to-back kills. Rowan pulled to within 23-22, but Stanford and Gaza clinched it with a pair of kills. Stanford finished with six kills in the set while Desgoutte added five.
 
It was more of the same in set No. 3, when the lead exceeded three just twice. The Profs led 19-15 before the Rangers climbed back into it with a 4-0 surge. Stanford threw down a kill before Desgoutte accounted for the next three points on two kills and an ace.
 
The nailbiter continued down the stretch, with three ties and one lead change. But with the score tied 23-23, the Rangers scored the final two points, including a set-clinching kill from sophomore Marissa Guajardo.
 
It was déjà vu in the final set, when the two sides were unable to build more than a four-point lead. Rowan led 20-16 before the Rangers rallied with a match-ending 9-2 run, as Desgoutte and Stanford each registered a pair of kills down the stretch while junior Alyssa Baron and sophomore Emily Shirk each had one.
 
In Stevens, the Rangers faced a team that entered the day with a 17-9 record and a No. 4 regional ranking. Desgoutte paced the Blue and Green with 16 kills while Pereira and Shirk posted nine terminations apiece. Rachwal distributed another 31 assists, and Gaza scooped an additional 35 digs.
 
After the Ducks captured the opening set, it was a nip-and-tuck affair the rest of the way, as the final two sets featured 26 ties and 14 lead changes.
 
In the second set, the Rangers jumped out to an 8-4 lead, but Stevens came back to assume a four-point lead of their own, first at 17-13 and finally at 21-17. But that's when the Rangers called timeout and promptly scored the next three points, starting with kills from Baron and Desgoutte.
 
The Ducks were on the verge of clinching the set but Drew refused to go quietly. The Rangers trailed 24-21 and faced set point five times, including at 25-24, when Pereira kept Drew alive with a kill. Stevens then found itself with its back against the ball and held off the Rangers while facing set point twice. The Ducks eventually ended the marathon set by scoring the final three points.
 
Desgoutte led the Rangers with eight kills in the second set while Pereira had five.
 
The final set was just as close, as the teams combined for 15 ties and 11 lead changes. Neither side led by more than two the entire way, and the Rangers were three points away from a win at 22-20. But Stevens called timeout before ending the match on a 5-1 spurt.
 
Drew, nearing the end of its third season as a varsity program, will now play its first-ever postseason match on Tuesday. The Rangers earned the No. 6 seed in the Landmark Conference tournament and will visit No. 3 Elizabethtown College in a first-round match starting at 7 p.m.