WEST POINT, N.Y - The Marist volleyball team (3-7) closed out its non-conference schedule Sunday, dropping a 3-0 decision (21-25, 17-25, 30-32) to Army (7-3) at the West Point Challenge.
Hanna Stoiberg was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing with nine kills, 15 assists and a .421 hitting percentage to lead the Red Foxes.
In the opening set, Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) kill and an Army error helped Marist jump out to a quick 2-0 lead, which they held until back-to-back service aces by Ariana Mankus gave the Black Knights their first lead at 10-9. With the score tied at 13, Mackenzie Stephens (Holland, Mich.) went on a 3-1 run of her with a block assist with Stoiberg, a solo block and a kill. Gena Russo (Rensselaer, N.Y.) followed with a service ace to give the Red Foxes a 17-14 lead, prompting an Army timeout. Coming out of the break, the Army defense stepped up as the Black Knights recorded five blocks, part of a 12-4 run to close out the set. Stoiberg led the Red Foxes with four kills in the set and added five assists. Megan Wilton had eight kills for Army.
The Army blocking continued into the second set as they registered two more to take an early 4-1 lead. The Red Foxes worked to tie the score at 5-5 thanks to a Stephens' kill and a block by Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas). After that however, Army went on a 7-2 run before a Stephens kill brought Marist within four at 12-8. That is as close as they would get though, as Mankus had six kills and Francine Vasquez chipped in five for the Black Knights.
From the start, the third set was a deadlock, with there being a total 25 tied scores. Stoiberg started the set off with a service ace, but neither team had more than a one-point lead until Marist jumped ahead 13-11 on a Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) kill. The Red Foxes would maintain the lead until a service ace by D.J. Phee tied the score at 20-20. A service ace by Gilbert regained the lead for Marist at 22-21, but the score was immediately tied back up by a Mankus kill. Stoiberg, Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.), Harridsleff, and Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) all recorded kills with Army was looking to close out the set and match. However, a Red Foxes' attacking error after another kill by Mankus, her match-high 17th, finished things off.
Hill finished with a team-high 12 kills and Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) led Marist with 17 digs. Foss and Harridsleff each contributed six kills and Audra Brady had 22 assists.
The Red Foxes open up conference play next weekend with two road matches at Rider and Loyola. Saturday afternoon's match begins at 1 p.m. while Sunday starts at 2.
