JOHNSON, Vt. — The Maine Maritime Academy volleyball team capped off a perfect North Atlantic Conference regular season with a 3-0 road win over Vermont State University Johnson on Saturday.
Maine Maritime (19-8, 8-0 NAC) raced out to an 8-1 lead in the opening set and cruised to a 25-9 victory. The Mariners opened the second frame on a 10-4 run before Johnson (10-15, 3-5 NAC) closed the gap to 11-7. MMA responded with a dominant 14-4 stretch to take the set, 25-11, and a 2-0 match lead.
The Badgers came out strong in the third set, jumping ahead 7-2, but the Mariners battled back to tie things at 11-11 before taking a 12-11 advantage. Johnson briefly regained the lead at 14-13, but Maine Maritime closed the match on an 11-3 run to secure the sweep.
Senior
Ila Smith and junior
Sydney Williams shared match-high honors with 14 kills apiece, while senior
Sophia Biggie chipped in six. Sophomore
Hannah Tate recorded five service aces and nine digs, and senior
Hunnie Zuber-Stephens tallied 27 assists. Williams added five assists and finished with a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double, while junior
Ally Hadley collected nine digs.
The Mariners return to action Sunday in the NAC Semifinals, hosting the winner of No. 4 Thomas College and No. 5 SUNY Cobleskill.
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