The St. Mary’s College of Maryland volleyball team Traveled to Washington, DC this weekend to kick off conference play. The Seahawks competed in two matches this afternoon; facing off against Gallaudet at 11am followed by Penn College at 1pm. Gallaudet was more than the Seahawks were ready to handle and they quickly fell in three sets. Despite losing their first match the Seahawks weren’t ready to go home without a win and dug deep to claim victory against Penn College in just three sets.
How it Happened
- Today marked the beginning of conference play for the Seahawks and though they were ready to compete, Gallaudet came out strong and gained an early lead on the Hawks holding them to just 3 points for the first 10 they scored. The Seahawks would answer back and come close to overtaking Gallaudet but would fall just short in the first set (21-25).
- The second set would prove to be much more evenly matched between the conference foes, going point for point. St. Mary’s soon pulled away from Gallaudet and held the advantage for the duration of the set. The Seahawks would give up the lead at 22-18 and so Gallaudet would take the second set (23-25). Both teams emptied the tank in the third set, giving everything they had to earn the win.
- In this final set both teams would take multiple points at a time, the largest scoring streak being 6 points for Gallaudet but averaging three points at a time for both teams. In the end the Seahawks just weren’t able to overpower Gallaudet and fell in three sets (23-25).
- After suffering a tight loss in their first matchup of the day, the Seahawks were determined to redeem themselves and take home a conference win in their second match against Penn College.
- St. Mary’s pulled out everything they had left in them and didn’t give Penn College a chance to stay in the match. The Seahawks took Penn College by storm and made a statement taking the first set (25-11). St. Mary’s would keep to the same tune entering the second set and give Penn College little breathing room to add points against the Hawks.
- Though the Seahawks let the Wildcats have a few more points this set than the first they would not allow the second set to be a close game (25-15). Gaining momentum from their first two sets, the Seahawks could taste victory and quickly got the jump on the Wildcats. Keeping this set short and sweet like the previous two, the Hawks beat Penn College in three sets and claimed their first conference win of the season (25-14).
Key Plays
- Taylor Wigglesworth led the way against Gallaudet in kills this afternoon making nine in the match while Erin Krauss and Meghan Stevens each would add six. Kyra Feinauer and Lizzie Spalitta would step up to the plate in their second set, executing seven each against Penn College. Alessia Regazzoni would follow behind her teammates with five kills.
- Grace Gilmore would be a key player in today’s match against Penn College as she would serve four aces in the three sets. Wigglesworth came up with three in the second match and one in the first match. Against Gallaudet Stevens would lead the way in aces making three for the Seahawks.
- Stevens would take the leaderboard in digs in both matches for the Seahawks today, executing 27 for the day. Alexandra Bradley would follow her in the first match adding 11 digs herself while Nicole Gibson would make nine in the second match.
Up Next
The St. Mary’s Volleyball squad will resume non-conference play on Tuesday next week against Mary Washington. The Seahawks will host just their fourth home match of the season on the 12th of October. Match time is set to start at 7pm.