Box Score
 
KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2021) – The USMMA women's volleyball team won a marathon five-setter against Hunter College, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale at home inside the Liebertz Gymnasium. The victory improves the Mariners' record to 20-3, it's their second-straight 20-win season, while the Hawks fall to 11-13.
 
Merchant Marine won the first set in comeback fashion after trailing 23-19 late and scoring six-straight to earn the exciting victory. The Mariners then won the second set rather handily, 25-16, but Hunter did not go down quietly. The visitors squeaked out a win in the third set, 26-24, and then forced a fifth set with a 25-20 victory in the fourth. However, the Mariners came out strong in the decisive set and put the match away with a 15-9 win.
 
Junior Paige Smith (Virginia Beach, Va.) put down a match-high 20 kills as part of a double-double effort with 13 digs. Senior Brittney Pinzon (Fullerton, Calif.) also had a double-double with 35 assists and 15 digs, while classmate Taylor Gilbertson (Phoenix, Ariz.) nearly had a triple-double with 14 kills and match-highs with 25 digs and seven service aces.
 
Senior Sierra Steffen (Encinitas, Calif.) also chipped in with 14 kills and classmate Shelby Bowman (Redmond, Wash.) picked up 14 digs, while junior Claire Hyun (Issaquah, Wash.) contributed 14 assists on the afternoon.
 
For Hunter, Mariapaz Lojano and Beverly Wong both tied for the team-high with eight kills, Justine Smith had 26 assists and libero Erin Hyman picked up 24 digs. A total of five players had double-digit digs, as Smith also recorded a double-double with 14 digs.
 
The Mariners enter the Skyline Tournament as the #1 seed and will host the semifinals against the winner of Tuesday night's battle between #5-seed Mount St. Vincent at #4-seed Mount St. Mary up in Newburgh, N.Y. The semifinals match will be held on Thursday night, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Liebertz Gymnasium. Live stats and a live video feed of the Skyline Semifinals will be available with links on the USMMA Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
 
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