MONTCLAIR, N.J. (Nov. 3, 2023) – On Friday night, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's volleyball team lost its regular season-finale at Montclair State in four sets (25-21, 21-25, 25-13, 28-26). The setback drops the Mariners' record to 13-11, while the Red Hawks improve to 15-12.
Match Link
Seniors
Brittany Breland (Bryan, Texas) and
Meredith Buchanan (Kathleen, Ga.) led the USMMA offense with 18 and 12 kills, respectively. Breland's 18 matched her season-high, while she also led the squad with a .234 hitting percentage, and Buchanan recorded a double-double with 10 digs.
Freshman setter
Alexa Tipps (Palmdale, Calif.) also registered a double-double with a match-high 35 assists to go along with 13 digs, while sophomore libero
Stephanie Schatzman (Virginia Beach, Va.) picked up a team-best 24 digs.
In the opening set, the Mariners led, 7-5, early, but Montclair went on a 6-1 run to pull in front, 11-8. A Red Hawk attack error trimmed the USMMA deficit to 15-14, but an 8-2 MSU spurt stretched the host's lead to 23-16. Merchant Marine battled back, getting the score to 24-21 on the heels of a 5-1 rally, but Montclair capped set one with an unassisted kill, squeaking by, 25-21.
The Red Hawks jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the second period before seven of the following eight markers favored USMMA. Down by four, 18-14, the Mariners stormed back with the next six for a 20-18 lead. After an unforced attack error from Merchant Marine leveled the set at 21, the visitors notched the final four points to even the match at one.
11 of the first 14 tallies in the third stanza went Montclair's way. The Red Hawks' lead swelled to double figures and they eventually pushed the score to 21-7. The Mariners did counter late with four-straight to force Montclair into a timeout at 24-13. The breather paid dividends for MSU, as a service error into the net handed them the 25-13 triumph.
The fourth frame went back and forth and saw ties at 11, 12, 13, 16, and 19. The Red Hawks, who trailed 19-16, embarked on a 7-0 run to inch in front, and later got to match-point, 24-20, but the Mariners answered with four-straight. After ties at 25 and 26, Montclair was able to string the back-to-back points needed to close out the match on a kill and a service ace.
The Red Hawks were led by junior Skye Ramsey, who had a match-high 21 kills, while sophomore Emily Carcich dished out 23 assists and junior Katie Rodman produced 27 digs.
Up next for the Mariners is the 2023 Skyline Championship Tournament, which will begin with first-round action on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Seedings are not yet finalized for the tourney, as the conference regular season wraps up tomorrow. All matchups will be announced by the Skyline Conference on Saturday on their website
www.SkylineConference.org and will be shared on our social media platforms (listed below).
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