KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 4, 2023) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's volleyball team won its second-straight match on Wednesday night, 3-2, over Sarah Lawrence after an exciting marathon of a contest inside an energetic Liebertz Gymnasium. The victory moves the Mariners to 6-7 (4-1 Skyline), while the Gryphons fall to 6-6 (3-1 Skyline) in defeat.
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Every set was extremely close, with SLC taking the first by a score of 25-23, followed by the Mariners grabbing the second, 25-21. The same 25-21 score, but for the opposite teams happened in set number three, as the Gryphons went ahead in the match, 2-1. USMMA would not go down quietly, as they rallied back to take the fourth set 25-22 to even the match up at 2-apiece and force the decisive fifth set.
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After Merchant Marine went ahead 3-1 in the fifth set, Sarah Lawrence rattled off an 8-3 run and seemed in command with the momentum ahead 9-6. After a clutch timeout called by first-year head coach
Tony Nocera, the Mariners took that momentum right back with three-straight points to tie the set up.
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After a brief scare of back-to-back points by the Gryphons made it 11-9 in favor of the guests, Kings Point scored five-straight to come within match point. Finally, after another SLC point, a kill by senior
Brittany Breland (Bryan, Texas) ended the match, as the Mariners took the fifth set, 15-12.
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Breland finished with a double-double, putting down 18 kills to go along with 11 digs. Freshman
Erin Stillinger (Keller, Texas) led all players on the night with 19 kills and four blocks, while senior
Meredith Buchanan (Kathleen, Ga.) recorded a double-double of her own with 16 kills on a team-best .235 hitting percentage to go along with 18 digs.
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Freshman setter
Alexa Tipps (Palmdale, Calif.) dished out a career-high 52 assists and also had a double-double with 15 digs and sophomore libero
Stephanie Schatzman (Virginia Beach, Va.) picked up 34 digs to lead the Mariners.
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For the Golden Eagles, Athena Kazos and Milly Guemple tied for the team-high with 18 kills apiece, with Kazos also picking up 20 digs. Libero Kaille Ferguson was all over the place in the back row, finishing the night with a match-high 37 digs. Setter Mia Rector also had a double-double with 37 assists and 19 digs, while Georgi Massey recorded 16 digs.
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The Mariners are right back in action tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 5, when they travel to Manhattan to take on non-conference opponent Baruch College. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Bearcats' ARC Arena. Live stats and a live video feed the match is available with links on
the USMMA Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
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