The Saint Mary’s College of Maryland Volleyball traveled to Reading, PA Saturday to compete in their second tri-match this week. The Seahawks hosted a tri-match this past Sunday in honor of Senior day. Today’s tri-match followed the same tune as the last as the Seahawks walked away with one conference win and one conference loss. Saint Mary’s faced off against Penn State Berks first at 11 am, followed by Morrisville State at 1 pm.
- The Seahawks started their first set against Berks strong, holding advantage for the duration of the set and only giving them the lead twice. Each time Berks gained the edge over the Hawks, the Hawks would take it back quickly. Point went back and forth and the match seemed to be going in favor of the Hawks right up until the end when Berks found their groove and made a comeback to take the first set away from Saint Mary’s (22-25). Berks stayed in rhythm and gained an early lead on the Seahawks in the second set by going on a 5 point streak. This early advantage was key for berks to stay ahead of the Hawks. Despite their best effort to fight back the Seahawks couldn’t get the break they needed and lost the second set (22-25). Saint Mary’s dug deep for the third set and were determined to come away with set 3. They sent a message to Berks as Fatima Bouzid sent two service aces over the net and one serve that caused an attacking error to start 3-0 in the set. Berks received the Hawks message loud and clear and attacked back even harder to overtake the Seahawks and ultimately win the match (23-25).
- The Seahawks had no time to reflect on their loss against Penn State Berks as they were queued to compete against Morrisville right after. The Seahawks got right back on the court and had the mindset they were taking home a win this match no matter what it took. Morrisville took an early lead over Saint Mary’s and held the set in their favor for the majority of the set. The Seahawks came to a key turning point when Meghan Stevens came up to serve and led the Hawks on a five point streak, taking them to match point. After one turn over the Seahawks sealed set one with a (25-17) victory. Morrisville was not going to go down easy and fought tooth and nail to earn the second set. Set two went point for point all the way up until the end when Saint Mary’s was able to make a few clutch plays and take set two (25-23). The Seahawks were confident they could end this match in three sets; but Morrisville thought otherwise. The Hawks held a 10-3 lead in the beginning of set three but this didn’t faze Morrisville. The Mustangs turned up the heat on the Seahawks and made a comeback to take set three (28-26) and sent this match into a fourth set. Set four was the most evenly matched yet for these competitors. Points were consistently going back and forth with no one gaining a clear upper hand. In the end the Mustangs would catch Saint Mary’s on their heels and earn the fourth set (22-25). It all came down to the fifth and final set. The Seahawks weren’t willing to give Morrisville any more than the two sets they had taken and emptied the tank in this last set to earn a conference win. The Seahawks made quick work of the Mustangs and gave them no room to catch up and clinched the fifth set for victory (15-8).
Key Plays
- Kyra Feinaeur would execute 19 kills across the two matches. Gracie Gilmore sent 11 kills over the net in match two. Chanel Lucas added nine kills in match one.
- Alexandra Bradley racked up five aces for the Seahawks in the two matches while Chanel Lucas added four in the second match and Fatima Bouzid nailed two in the first match.
- Alexandra Bradley had 27 digs for Saint Mary’s across the two matches. Meaghan Stevens made ten in match two while Fatimas Bouzid had eight in match one.
Up Next
The St. Mary’s Volleyball Squad will head back to Pennsylvania to participate in their third straight tri-match conference meeting in Lancaster. The tr-match will take place on October 30th and the Seahawks will face off against Lancaster Bible at 11 am followed by Wells at 1 pm.