KINGS POINT, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team fell to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in straight sets Thursday evening, dropping a 25–19, 25–13, 25–18 decision in Skyline Conference action.
The Bears opened the match with an 8–4 advantage, highlighted by service aces from Keren Crespo (Meriden, Conn.) and Carissa Zwiefelhofer (North Bend, Wash.). The Mariners responded with four consecutive points to level the set, and the teams exchanged leads before USMMA broke a 15–15 tie with three unanswered points. St. Joseph's pulled within 18–17, but the Mariners closed the opener on a 7–2 run.
The hosts carried its momentum into the second set, building a 9–2 advantage before using an eight-point run to extend its lead to 18–4. The Bears found some offensive production late, but the Mariners held on for a 25–13 victory.
SJBK remained competitive in the third, building an early 8–6 lead before USMMA rallied to take a 16–12 advantage. The Bears responded with four straight points, capped by a Zwiefelhofer kill, to tie the set at 16. However, the Mariners answered with four unanswered points of their own and held on to complete the sweep, 25–18.
Zwiefelhofer led SJBK with 11 kills, 11 assists and two block assists. Abigail Encinia (Sunnyvale, Texas) added 14 assists, four kills and two service aces, while Crespo contributed three kills and three aces. Karson Brooks (Portland, Ore.) finished with four kills and nine digs, and Mariana Medrano (El Paso, Texas) recorded seven digs.
The Bears return to The Hill Center on Sunday, October 18, hosting SUNY Old Westbury at noon.
