ARLINGTON, TEXAS - The Marist volleyball team fell to host school Texas-Arlington (UTA) 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18) Friday night to start the Hilton Classic. Freshman Kelsey Lahey (Bowling Green, Ohio) led the Red Foxes' offensive attack with a career-high nine kills.
Mackenzie Stephens (Holland, Mich.), Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Courtney Shaw (Centennial, Co.) all had five kills. Gena Russo (Rensselaer, N.Y.) led the defense with nine digs. Stoiberg had a team-high 14 assists while Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) was second in both assists (12) and digs (6).
The Red Foxes (4-4) were fighting from the beginning as they trailed 6-2 early, but battled back to take a 9-8 lead with a 7-2 run. Lahey had two kills in the streak and Shaw and Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) each added one. With the score tied at 10 however, the Mavericks went on a 13-3 run to take control of the set at 23-13.
Texas-Arlington maintained the momentum in the second set as they used a 10-1 run to again take control late in the set at 17-8. Despite a late run that included kills by Lahey and Shaw and a block from Shaw and Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas), the Red Foxes could not completely come back from the deficit, dropping the second set 25-16.
Marist continued to fight in the third set, twice coming back from three-point deficits to eventually tie the score at 13-all. Two kills by Stephens, Lahey and Stoiberg, as well as single kills by Shaw and Becca Jones (Arlington, Va.) led the charge for the Red Foxes. UTA however, responded with a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. Kills by Jones and Shaw brought Marist to within four at 20-16, but the Mavericks closed out the match on a 5-2 run.
The Red Foxes continue play at the Hilton Classic on Saturday afternoon against Southern Mississippi at 12 p.m. and Northwestern State at 5:30 p.m.
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