POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Marist volleyball team (5-2) defeated Army (3-7) in straight sets in its 2014 home opener Sept. 10. The Red Foxes edged the Black Knights 26-24 in the first set before pulling away in the second and third with scores of 25-16 and 25-18, respectively. Marist lead the entire match.
Senior Mackenzie Stephens (Holland, Mich.) led Marist with nine kills to go along with a .348 hitting percentage. Senior libero Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) and senior Gena Russo (Rensselaer, N.Y.) kept rallies alive, combining for 25 of the Red Foxes' 46 digs in the match. Sophomore Amanda Schlegel (Austin, Texas) also slammed four services aces.
Army was led by freshman Carolyn Bockrath, who had a hand in 15 Black Knights' points and finished with 13 kills. Junior Vanessa Edwards totaled 27 assists and nine digs, while freshman Amber Clay compiled a match-high 17 digs.
Marist jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first set with a pair of four-point streaks. Army erased two, six point deficits but never took the lead as the Red Foxes concluded the opening set with a kill from sophomore Liz Gassman (Glenside, Pa.) and an Army attack error. The Red Foxes began to pull away in the second set when they went on a 10-2 run that made the score 14-4. Zywick was serving on four of the points over that stretch. In the third and final set, Army tied the score seven times including once at 17 apiece. Marist ripped off five straight points from that point on with the help of three Stephens' kills.
The Red Foxes will hit the road for their final tournament before conference play. Marist will take on Lafayette at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in Easton, Pa., to begin the Crosstown Tournament before facing Delaware State at 12:30 p.m. and Lehigh at 3 p.m. on Sept. 13 in Bethlehem, Pa.
