United States Merchant Marine Academy

KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 11, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's volleyball team hit .316 while holding Old Westbury to a .000 hitting percentage, as the Mariners opened Parents Weekend 2026 with a 3-0 Skyline Conference sweep on Friday night at the Liebertz Gymnasium. USMMA won by scores of 25-11, 25-16 and 25-14 to improve to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in Skyline play.
 
Match Files

• Box Score
• WATCH: Post-Match Interview With Maddie Mayer 

Junior Maddie Mayer (Centennial, Colo.) led a balanced Mariners attack with seven kills on just 11 swings, hitting .545, while Anna Kelly added six kills. Sophomore Carly Soboloski (Peoria, Ariz.) put down five kills with only one error to hit .500, senior Erin Stillinger (Keller, Texas) had four errorless kills on seven attempts for a .571 percentage and freshman Sophie Phillips (Huffman, Texas) recorded three kills on four swings to hit .750.
 
Freshmen Miranda Zeng (Cupertino, Calif.) and Savannah Smith (El Paso, Texas) distributed 15 assists apiece, while junior Sydney Douglas (Herndon, Va.) paced the defense with seven digs. Zeng, Phillips and sophomore Brooklyn Branum (Coppell, Texas) each served two of USMMA's nine aces.
 
USMMA seized control immediately in the opening set, scoring the first five points and racing out to a 12-2 advantage. Old Westbury eventually pulled within six at 17-11, but the Mariners slammed the door by scoring the final eight points of the set, with Mayer serving the final seven and recording an ace during the run, for the 25-11 victory.
 
The Panthers stayed closer in the second and cut the Mariners' advantage to 12-10 before USMMA began to create separation. Old Westbury later pulled within three at 17-14, but the Mariners answered by taking eight of the final 10 points. Phillips served an ace during the closing stretch before Soboloski finished off the 25-16 win with a kill.
 
The Mariners left little doubt in the third, turning a 3-1 edge into an 11-1 advantage behind a lengthy service run from Phillips. USMMA eventually stretched the lead to 15-4 and hit a match-best .400 in the set before closing out the sweep, 25-14. The Mariners finished the night with advantages of 36-19 in kills, 9-2 in service aces, 8-1 in total blocks and 37-26 in digs.
 
For Old Westbury (0-2, 0-1 Skyline), Paige Herbert led the Panthers with five kills, while Nicole Zugnoni and Summer Brown finished with four apiece. Julia Brandes recorded team highs of 12 assists and seven digs, while Zugnoni accounted for both of the Panthers' service aces.
 
Up next, the Mariners will travel to Brooklyn College on Tuesday, Sept. 15. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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