KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 22, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 victory over non-conference opponent Pratt Institute on Tuesday night at the Liebertz Gymnasium, winning by scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-10. The Mariners improved to 8-1 with their fifth-straight victory, while the Cannoneers fell to 4-4.
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Match File
Freshmen
Anna Kelly (Orange, Texas) and
Candy Saz-Price (Cabot, Ark.) paced the USMMA attack with seven kills apiece, with Kelly hitting a match-best .462 on 13 swings. Junior
Jenny Dyke (Grand Rapids, Mich.) added five kills while hitting .444, while classmate
Sydney Douglas (Herndon, Va.) and freshmen
Sophie Phillips (Huffman, Texas) and
Lanae DuBose (Baytown, Texas) each chipped in three kills. The Mariners finished the night with 30 kills and hit .202 as a team.
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Freshman
Miranda Zeng (Cupertino, Calif.) handed out a team-high 14 assists and served a match-best five aces, while fellow plebe
Savannah Smith (El Paso, Texas) added 13 assists and two aces. Douglas led the defense with a match-high 11 digs and also contributed two aces, while Dyke had a hand in six blocks. USMMA finished with 12 service aces and seven total blocks while holding Pratt to a negative-.034 hitting percentage.
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The opening set was even at 8-8 before the Mariners began to take control. Zeng served during a four-point run that put USMMA ahead 13-8, and after Pratt pulled within three, the Mariners rattled off six straight points to stretch the advantage to 19-10. Kelly delivered three kills late in the set before
Maddie Mayer (Centennial, Colo.) closed out the 25-15 win with a service ace.
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USMMA jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the second and later extended the margin to 14-7. Pratt responded with five-straight points to pull within 14-12, but the Mariners never surrendered the lead. USMMA eventually used a four-point surge to turn an 18-16 edge into a 22-16 advantage, and three consecutive blocks helped finish off the 25-17 victory.
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The Mariners dominated the third from the outset, racing out to a 6-1 lead and building the advantage to 16-6. Leading 17-7, Zeng took over at the service line as USMMA scored seven-straight points to move within one of the sweep at 24-7. The stretch featured two Zeng aces, three Dyke kills and a block from
Kailey Miller (Plain City, Ohio) and Dyke before the Mariners ultimately closed out the match, 25-10.
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For Pratt, Colleen Russell led all players with 11 kills and added eight digs, while Kelsy Padilla finished with five kills and seven digs. Emma Hwang dished out a match-high 19 assists, while Gabriella Prieto collected seven digs and served the Cannoneers' lone ace. Pratt was held to 21 kills against 24 attack errors for the match.
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The Mariners return to action at home on Thursday night, Sept. 24, when they welcome another non-conference opponent, Hunter College, to the Liebertz Gymnasium. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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