The St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s volleyball team dispatched Penn State Berks 3-0 on Tuesday night, posting set scores of 25-7, 25-12 and 25-13 inside the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics and Recreation Center. The victory lifted the Seahawks to 13-13 overall and 7-2 in United East Conference play, positioning them in a three-way tie for third place with one regular-season match remaining.
St. Mary’s controlled the match from the outset, jumping to a 17-1 lead in the first set behind 10 service aces and 12 blocks overall. The team hit .344 from the floor, its most efficient mark this season, while limiting Berks to a minus-.024 percentage on 83 attempts. Freshman outside hitter Erianna Mendieta paced the attack with 10 kills on .353 hitting and three blocks. Junior Julia Bobrowski contributed eight kills and two aces, while sophomore Faith Shockley and junior Maggie Mohler combined for 13 kills and four blocks to anchor the net.
Sophomores Camilla Galeano and Arielle Lubeck directed the offense with 20 assists and four aces between them. Sophomore Stella Marrero added 10 digs in the backcourt. Berks managed 15 kills but committed 17 errors, finishing with 17.0 points to St. Mary’s 60.0.
The win keeps St. Mary’s in contention for a top-four seed in the United East tournament, which features the top 10 teams in single-elimination format starting Nov. 7 at the highest seed’s site. Gallaudet leads the conference at 10-0, followed by Penn State Harrisburg at 8-1. St. Mary’s shares third with Cairn University and Lancaster Bible College, both also 7-2. A victory in Saturday’s road finale against Lancaster Bible at 11 a.m. could secure a favorable draw.
Head coach Alexis Calloway, in her third season since taking over in July 2022, has guided the program to steady improvement. The Seahawks posted a 9-17 mark in her debut year, then rebounded to 12-14 in 2024 with a 5-5 conference finish. Calloway, a former standout at Stevenson University, emphasizes balanced play, blending offensive firepower with defensive pressure. Her staff includes assistant Ashley Welch, a 2023 St. Mary’s alum, and Mi’Kyng Johnson.
Mendieta, a 5-foot-7 freshman from Toano, Virginia, via Warhill High School, has emerged as a key pin hitter early in her career. She joined the roster after competing with the Williamsburg Volleyball Club, majoring in biology while logging starts across 26 matches. Bobrowski, a transfer from Division I Towson, brings experience to the right side, while Shockley and Mohler form a versatile middle duo that has combined for 45 blocks this season.
St. Mary’s entered the United East in 2021-22 after departing the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference, where the program competed since 1989. The move aligned with a merger of the North Eastern Athletic Conference and Colonial States Athletic Conference, forming the 15-team United East with a focus on regional rivalries and expanded scheduling. The Seahawks have qualified for the conference tournament in two of three seasons under the banner, reaching the semifinals in 2023.
United East rules require top seeds to host quarterfinals, with semifinals and the championship centralized. Seeding prioritizes conference winning percentage, then head-to-head results. St. Mary’s holds a 2-0 edge over Lancaster Bible this year, including a 3-1 home win on Sept. 20. The Chargers, coached by Dale Harvey in his 12th season, sit at 15-10 overall and feature senior setter Hannah Schwenk, who averages 8.2 assists per set.
Postseason eligibility extends to the top 10, with byes for the top four. Gallaudet, the two-time defending champion, eyes a three-peat after sweeping the 2024 title. The Bison’s 22-5 mark includes a 16-match win streak, powered by sophomore outside hitter Maya Sylvester’s 3.8 kills per set.
For St. Mary’s players, the late surge builds on a nonconference slate that included losses to regional powers like Salisbury and Frostburg State. The team’s 13-13 balance masks a 7-2 conference clip, underscoring Calloway’s adjustments in rotations and serve-receive passing. Sophomore libero Marrero leads digs at 3.9 per set, while the blockers’ 1.8 average ranks third in the league.
Saturday’s matchup at Lancaster Bible’s Horst Athletic Center tests St. Mary’s road form, where it stands 4-7 this fall. A sweep or close win could clinch third outright, setting up a home quarterfinal. Regardless, the Seahawks enter November with 26 matches under their belts, preparing for a tournament that demands three wins for the automatic NCAA bid.
