ST. MARY’S CITY — A St. Mary’s College of Maryland volleyball team that did not lose a United East Conference match all regular season saw its year end on its home floor Wednesday night, swept by Lancaster Bible College in the conference semifinals.
The Chargers won 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 on Nov. 11 at the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena, according to the college’s recap. St. Mary’s finishes 22-7 overall after going 10-0 in United East regular-season play. Lancaster Bible (18-10, 8-2) advances to the conference championship match.
The difference was at the net. Lancaster Bible put down 43 kills and hit .270, while the Seahawks managed 29 kills against 20 attack errors and hit .081. St. Mary’s stayed closest in the second set, trading points throughout before the Chargers closed it out 25-22 for a 2-0 lead, then pulled away in the third.
Fifth-year outside hitter Julia Bobrowski led St. Mary’s with eight kills and added eight digs in her final collegiate match. Junior Maya Mauro and sophomore Erianna Mendieta had five kills apiece, with Mauro adding five digs and an ace and Mendieta two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Sanaa Porter had four kills.
Junior middle blocker Faith Shockley, a Huntingtown High School graduate from Huntingtown, finished with three kills and three block assists.
Senior setter Lauren Panageotou of Baltimore handed out 12 assists, and senior Camilla Galeano of Germantown had eight assists and six digs. Junior defensive specialist Stella Marrero led the back row with 10 digs to go with three assists and an ace.
Jessica Fletcher paced Lancaster Bible with 11 kills. Eden Belford, Lea Sareyka and Hannah Helmer each had nine.
By the numbers
| Team stats | Lancaster Bible | St. Mary’s |
|---|---|---|
| Kills | 43 | 29 |
| Errors | 12 | 20 |
| Attempts | 115 | 111 |
| Hitting percentage | .270 | .081 |
| Assists | 42 | 25 |
| Aces | 6 | 3 |
| Blocks | 6 | 4 |
The loss closes a season in which the Seahawks won 22 matches and swept through the conference schedule. Their last regular-season outing was a nonconference loss to Shenandoah ahead of the playoffs.
St. Mary’s loses Bobrowski, Panageotou and Galeano from the group that played Wednesday. Mauro, Shockley, Marrero, Mendieta and Porter are all listed as juniors or sophomores on the team roster.
It was a difficult postseason week for St. Mary’s teams against the rest of the United East. The field hockey team lost the conference final in a shootout and the women’s soccer team fell in its third straight final.
