Box Score
 
BALTIMORE (Nov. 12, 2021) – The USMMA women's volleyball team dropped its first two sets to SUNY Cortland on Friday down at Johns Hopkins in NCAA Tournament first-round action, but the Mariners made it interesting for sure, taking the third set convincingly and nearly forcing a decisive fifth-set before the Red Dragons went on run late in the fourth set to seal their victory. Merchant Marine finished the year with a 22-4 record, while Cortland improved to 27-3 and will play Tufts in the second round on Saturday.
 
After a slow start, losing the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-14, the Mariners turned it on in the third, playing with conviction and growing momentum to record a 25-19 win. In the fourth set, USMMA was up 23-20 late, but the Red Dragons scored five-straight to end the match.
 
Merchant Marine got double-double performances from three players – junior Paige Smith (Virginia Beach, Va.) had a team-best 16 kills to go along with 16 digs, while hitting at a .233 clip, senior Taylor Gilbertson (Phoenix, Ariz.) added 14 kills and a match-high 17 digs and junior Claire Hyun (Issaquah, Wash.) dished out 17 assists and picked up 10 digs.
 
Senior Brittney Pinzon (Fullerton, Calif.) had 24 assists to lead the Mariners, just one shy of the match-high, and USMMA got a combined 17 kills from their two right-side hitters, as senior Sierra Steffen (Encinitas, Calif.) had nine kills and sophomore Meredith Buchanan (Kathleen, Ga.) put down eight.
 
For Cortland, senior Nicole Van Pelt led all players in the match with 17 kills and a .556 hitting percentage. Classmate Hannah Southcott chipped in with 14 kills and had a double-double with 10 digs. Freshman setter Ryan Hinshaw put up match-highs with 25 assists and four service aces and junior libero Carly Haegele picked up 12 digs. Freshman middle Alexa Guedez had a big presence at the net with six blocks (three solo and three assisted).
 
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