Box Score
St. Mary's City, Md. – Senior
outside hitter Claire Kodan (Olney, Md./Sherwood)
and first-year Michelle Klima (Ellicott City,
Md./Centennial) joined forces to power the St. Mary's College
of Maryland volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over non-conference
opponent, Messiah College, Friday night.
Klima notched a match- and season-high 17 kills
while Kodan registered her sixth double-double of
the season on 16 kills and team-best 20 digs as the Seahawks picked
up their third straight win.
St. Mary's (18-6) fell behind early as Messiah (15-7)
overcame a 12-8 deficit to claim a 25-21 victory in the first
set. After knotting the set at 13-13 with back-to-back
service aces by sophomore middle hitter Lindsay
King (Atglen, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), the two teams
traded points before the Falcons claimed the lead for good
following a 17-17 draw.
The Seahawks started behind the eight ball for the second set as
Messiah rushed out to a 5-0 lead before the home team finally got
on the scoreboard. St. Mary's called a timeout after
staring down a 10-4 deficit and battled back to claim their first
lead of the set at 12-11 following an 8-1 run. The Seahawks
never established more than a four-point lead and Messiah reclaimed
the lead at 26-25 on an ace by junior libero Megan
Wise (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion). Back-to-back Falcon
attacking errors sealed the 29-27 triumph for St. Mary's to
even the match at one set apiece.
St. Mary's never trailed in the third set and staked a 2-1
advantage in the match with a 25-21 win, holding off the pesky
Falcons who continued to knock on the door until the end.
The last set was hotly contested as neither squad, once having
the lead, was able to pull away far enough for a solid lead.
There were 23 tied scores and eight lead changes in the final game
as the Seahawks outlasted Messiah, 35-33.
Senior setter Katie Obal (Olney, Md./Sherwood)
also recorded a double-double with 50 assists and 18 digs while
adding two block assists. Sophomore Cecilia
Blanc (Laytonsville, Md./Poolesville) and first-year
Bianca Livioco (Montgomery Village,
Md./Gaithersburg) tallied double-digit digs as well with 16 and 15,
respectively. Blanc chipped in two service
aces while first-year middle blocker Trish Kallis
(Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) collected seven kills and four
blocks.
St. Mary's will be back in action tomorrow as the Seahawks
welcome Frostburg State University to the Michael P. O'Brien
Athletics & Recreation Center Arena for a Capital Athletic
Conference match at 11:00 am before facing Lancaster Bible College
at 1:00 pm in non-conference action.
Prior to the start of the Frostburg match, the team's two
seniors, Kodan and Obal, will be
recognized for their four years as member of the Seahawk volleyball
program.
