CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts – The Marist volleyball team split two games on Saturday, sweeping Merrimack 3-0 in the morning, but falling 0-3 to tournament champion Austin Peay in the afternoon.
The Red Foxes closed play at the Harvard Invitational with a 2-1 record, finishing in second place. The team is now 3-4 on the season.
- Merrimack got off to a quick start in set one, leading 10-6 after a kill from Brooke Leestma. However, the Red Foxes scored six of the next seven points, capped by a Sasha van der Merwe service ace, and took a 12-11 lead. A few rallied later, a Jordan Newblatt kill sparked a 6-0 run for Marist to extend its lead to seven, and the Red Foxes held on to win the set 25-17.
- Set two was also tightly contested early on, with the Red Foxes fighting out to a 16-14 lead about midway through. With the help of the team's second 6-0 run of the match, Marist took a 22-14 lead, and once again did not allow the Warriors back into it. A van der Merwe kill put the finishing touches on a solid set two, as the Red Foxes went on to win the set 25-15.
- The Red Foxes rode the momentum of the first two sets into set three. After exchanging points on the first six rallies, Marist went on a 10-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Sally Tietjen, to take a 13-3 lead. The Red Foxes coasted to a win in the set, and swept the match.
- The Governors dominated the first two set, despite some highlights from Madelyn Waumans. Austine Peay won the first set 25-11 and then won the second set 25-15.
- The third set was a much tougher battle. After another kill from Waumans, Marist led 10-9 about midway through the set. The two teams exchanged points multiple times, leading to a 18-18 tie. The Governors pulled out to a 21-20 lead, then scored the last four points of the set to win it 25-20, and win the match 3-0.
- Van der Merwe led Marist with 14 kills against Merrimack. She added seven kills and a team-high 12 digs against Austin Peay.
- Newblatt had a season-high 11 kills against the Warriors, and added 10 digs for her second career double-double.
- McKinley Fox combined for 51 assists on the day. She had a double-double against Austin Peay, adding 11 digs.
- Tietjen had a career-high six kills against Merrimack, and so did Alyssa White with two kills.
- Anne Mahler had a career-high six assists against the Warriors. Seven different Marist players had an assist in the match.
- Lauren Lietzke had a career-high two service aces and two digs against Merrimack.
- Morgan Owens had double-digit digs in both games, totaling 27 on the day.
- Marist had a .354 hitting percentage in its win over the Warriors.
The Red Foxes will return to McCann Arena on Tuesday, September sixth for their second home match of the season. Marist will take on Seton Hall, with first serve coming at 7 p.m. See you there!
