CAMDEN, N.J. | The United States Merchant Marine Academy women's volleyball team ran its winning streak to five matches on Saturday afternoon, as the Mariners moved to 12-3 on the season with victories in a tri-match over Marywood and host Rutgers-Camden. Merchant Marine swept past the Pacers in the opener (25-18, 25-22, 25-20), before head coach Tim Gaiser's side came back from one set down on two occasions to rally past the host Scarlet Raptors in a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10).

Match 1: USMMA 3, Marywood 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20)

Merchant Marine used a 41-24 advantage in kills offensively, as well as a 42-33 edge in the back row on digs, to sweep to the straight-sets triumph. The outside hitter tandem of Paige Smith (Jr.; Virginia Beach, Va.) and Taylor Gilbertson (Sr.; Phoenix, Ariz.) each registered double-doubles in the contest. Smith led all players with 12 kills to go with 11 digs, while Gilbertson passed a match-best 13 digs and served a match-high-tying five aces, adding 11 kills at the Mariners net in the process. Setters Brittany Pinzon (Sr.; Fullerton, Calif.) and Claire Hyun (Jr.; Issaquah, Wash.) dished out 18 and 13 assists, respectively, in guiding USMMA to a .269 hitting percentage.

Match 2: USMMA 3, Rutgers-Camden 2 (23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10)

The Mariners hit a strong .345 at the net against the host Scarlet Raptors, including marks of .484 (19-4-31) and .333 (9-2-21) in the fourth and fifth sets, respectively, to capture the come-from-behind result. Hyun (28) and Pinzon (26) combined for 54 of Merchant Marine's 65 assists on offense, primarily setting Smith (22-4-38, .474; 10 digs) and Gilbertson (19-5-40, .350; 2 aces). Senior Shelby Bowman (Redmond, Wash.) led all players with 12 digs, as Smith and she were the only players in the match to pass in double figures. 

In the fifth and deciding set, four-consecutive points pushed the visitors in front for good at 5-3, before the Mariners posted the final three points to close out the victory -- including kills by Pinzon on a setter dump at 14-10, and by senior right side Sierra Steffen (Encinitas, Calif.) for match point.

Gaiser's Mariners are back in Skyline Conference action Monday night (Oct. 4), when they play host to St. Joseph's College-Long Island in a 7 p.m. first serve from Liebertz Gymnasium. Links for live stats and live video will be available on the USMMA Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
 
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