Women’s Volleyball Suffers Skyline Setback Against USMMA

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team lost their Skyline Conference match to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-9) on Thursday evening from The Hill Center.

How it Happened

The two sides were neck and neck towards the beginning of the first set. Following a timeout, the Mariners (w-l) added distance between themselves and the Bears (3-3, 1-1); holding a seven-point advantage later in the set, 21-14. At 21-16, USMMA recorded the next four points unanswered to claim the set.

After a five-all tie in the second set, the visitors used an 8-1 to hold a 13-6 lead. Kills by Martina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep), Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills), and Mireia Alba (Barcelona, Spain) proved to be insufficient as the Mariners took the set, 25-13.

Merchant Marine was on cruise control in the clinching set as an attacking error was their lone blemish during an 11-1 start. Keeping the Bears outside of touching distance, the Mariners concluded the set with a 25-9 win to secure the sweep.

For the Bears

• Urgo led the attack with four kills. Poppett and Rachel Guerra (Kent Island, Md./Kent Island) each had three kills while Alba had two.

• Rachel Meltsin (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) handed out 12 assists.

• Poppett had five digs. Alba and Carol Melo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) had four each.

Up Next

The Bears will visit Clinton Hill neighbors Pratt Institute for a tri-match featuring the Cannoneers and Brooklyn College. St. Joseph's opens against the hosts at 11 am followed by the Bulldogs at 1 pm. Live stats and video of these contests will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live.