KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 11, 2023) – In front of a rowdy crowd inside the Liebertz Gymnasium on Tuesday night in its home rivalry match against Coast Guard, the USMMA women's volleyball team had a strong second set, but eventually fell to the Bears, 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-11). The defeat drops the Mariners' record to 2-4, while CGA improves to 8-1 with the win.
 
Match Link

• Box Score 

Senior Brittany Breland (Bryan, Texas) recorded a team-high seven kills and matched the team-best with seven digs, while freshman Erin Stillinger (Keller, Texas) put down six kills and led the Mariners with a .263 hitting percentage and two blocks.
 
Freshman setter Alexa Tipps (Palmdale, Calif.) dished out 13 assists and picked up six digs and junior Virginia Robert (Lynchburg, Va.) and sophomore libero Stephanie Schatzman (Virginia Beach, Va.) both tied Breland for the team-best with seven digs.
 
For the Bears, Allie Wildsmith and Sarah Somer both registered a game-high 10 kills apiece. Setter Maeve Duffin had 32 assists and libero Kaela France was all over the place in the back row, finishing the night with 25 digs.
 
Coast Guard raced out to a 13-3 lead in the first set and the Mariners would only come as close as eight points the rest of the way as the Bears sailed to a 25-12 first-set victory.
 
The second set was extremely close, as the score was tied 10 different times and the lead changed a total of four times. Once again, the visitors got out to a big lead to start, as the Bears got the score up to 8-1 before USMMA clawed away. The Mariners were able to tie the score up at 10-10 before the back-and-forth began. The score would be tied at 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 17-17 and 18-18 until the Mariners put up consecutive points to take a 20-18 lead and force Coast Guard to take its first timeout of the night.
 
Out of the breather, however, the Bears scored four-straight to take their own two-point lead, 22-20. Merchant Marine wouldn't go quietly, though, as they went on to tie it 22-22 and then again 23-23, but Coast Guard strung together the final two points for 25-23 the victory.
 
After fighting to a 4-4 tie in the third set, the Bears tallied 17 of the next 20 points to take a commanding 21-7 lead. Despite three-straight from the Mariners, Coast Guard finished on a 4-1 run to take the final set, 25-11.
 
Up next, the Mariners will be on the road next Wednesday, Sept. 20 for a rematch of the 2022 Skyline Conference Championship Match against Manhattanville College. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Valiants' Kennedy Gymnasium up in Purchase, N.Y. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
 
Receive USMMA Women's Volleyball News Right To Your E-Mail!
If you would like to receive all the latest news on the USMMA women's volleyball team (or any other team at the Academy), including all press releases, delivered directly to your inbox, fill out this form.
 
Follow USMMA Athletics On Social Media!
Be sure to follow USMMA Athletics on social media to get up-to-the-minute updates on your favorite teams! Start following today on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!