Arlington, Va. – The 2013 Capital Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament First Round match between St. Mary's College of Maryland and Marymount (Va.) University Tuesday night came down to the wire as fourth-seeded Marymount needed five sets to gain the win and advance to the semifinals.

Down 2-1 in the match, fifth-seeded St. Mary's dominated the fourth set as the Seahawks never trailed en route to a 25-14 win to force a fifth and decisive set. Senior captain Michelle Klima (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) paced the team in the fourth set win with four kills and a .444 hitting percentage.

As expected, the final set was a hotly-contested fight with seven tied scores and two lead changes. Sophomore Karlee Vaillant (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) slammed home a kill to give St. Mary's an 8-7 advantage as the two teams switched sides. The Seahawks stretched their lead to 9-8 before three consecutive kills by junior Erin Allison (Gardnerville, Nev.) put Marymount (19-13) in the driver's seat.

The Saints' 4-0 run forced a St. Mary's timeout but MU extended its lead to 12-9 before a kill by sophomore middle blocker Mandy Goodspeed (Columbia, Md./Atholton) capped a 3-0 Seahawk spurt that knotted the game at 12-all. SMCM called another timeout after Marymount pulled ahead 14-12 but first-year Emileigh Rettig (Alexandria, Va.) laid down a kill to seal the Saint victory.

The win sends Marymount into a semifinal matchup at top-seeded Christopher Newport University (22-12) on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 pm while the loss wraps up the 2013 campaign for St. Mary's, ending the season with an 18-10 (3-5 CAC) overall record for its second consecutive winning record.

Three Seahawks finished with double-digit kills with Goodspeed notching 18 followed by Klima with 14. Sophomore captain Autumn Fisher (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) added 10 kills while first-year setter Mimi Graf (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) recorded her 12th double-double with 39 assists and 11 digs.

First-year libero Carissa Hill (Lanham, Md./Pallotti) led the way on defense with 20 digs while sophomore setter Grace Chao (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) contributed a career-best 18 digs. At the net, Goodspeed (1 solo) and Fisher (1 solo) combined for 11 total blocks.

The first set was a battle as neither team could pull away until Marymount broke a 12-12 draw with a 7-1 run to stake its biggest lead of the game. The Seahawks clawed their way back in with a 9-1 run of their own to claim the lead, however; kills by senior Emily Schultis (Springfield, Va.) and Allison tied up the set at 23-23. Consecutive Saint errors sealed a 25-23 win for St. Mary's.

The Saints ran away with the second set, leading by 10 many times during set. St. Mary's did not go down quietly as the Seahawks dropped a 25-18 decision and Marymount knotted the match at 1-1. The next set belonged to the hosts as well as the Saints overcame a 4-0 start by St. Mary's en route to a 25-19 set win and 2-1 lead in the match.

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