Seahawks Sweep Lynchburg Quad Match
Sarah Gregorini
Lynchburg, Va. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland volleyball team returned to the win column Saturday as the Seahawks (4-4) won all three of their matches at a quad match hosted by Lynchburg College. St. Mary's defeated N.C. Wesleyan College and Peace College in four sets before needing five to hand Lynchburg its first loss of the season.
St. Mary's 3, N.C. Wesleyan 1: N.C. Wesleyan (2-5) captured the first set, 25-23, but then the Seahawks won the next three, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18, to claim the 3-1 victory in their first match.
Junior outside hitter Claire Kodan (Olney, Md./Sherwood) paced the team in the win with 17 kills and 10 digs as well as two service aces and two block assists. Senior middle blocker Jen Lamar (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) and sophomore right side Shannon Fitzpatrick (Germantown, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) joined Kodan with double digit kills as Lamar notched a career-high 15 and Fitzpatrick added 11.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Gregorini (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) led the defense with 20 digs, while freshmen Dani Thorne (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and Cecilia Blanc (Laytonsville, Md./Poolesville) contributed 14 and 12, respectively. Junior setter Katie Obal (Olney, Md./Sherwood) continued to perform well in her new role with 54 assists.
St.Mary's 3, Peace 1: The Seahawks started their second match the same as the first, dropping the first set to Peace (4-4), 25-23. St. Mary's went on to capture the next three, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21, for its second consecutive win.
Kodan continued her dominance on attack with 15 kills, while adding nine digs and two block assists on defense. Gregorini was also a key factor in the Seahawk offense with 11 kills and five service aces. Defensively, she contributed a match-best 18 digs.
Blanc and Thorne had another strong defensive performance with 14 and 10 digs, respectively, while Obal added 36 assists, eight digs, a block solo and a block assist.
St. Mary's 3, Lynchburg 2: Lynchburg notched an early 2-0 lead with wins of 25-20 and 26-24 before the Seahawks rallied with hard-fought victories in the third and fourth sets (25-23, 25-21) and a dominating fifth set, 15-4. The loss was the first of the season for the host Hornets (6-1).
Kodan recorded her sixth double-double of the season on 18 kills and 13 digs, while serving up five aces. Gregorini laid down 16 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Gena Hlavinka added a dozen.
Blanc registered a season-high 20 digs, while Obal picked up her second double-double of the year on a season-high 58 assists and 10 digs.
The Seahawks will return to action next Tuesday, September 15 as St. Mary's hosts Marymount (Va.) University at 7:00 p.m. in the Capital Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
