Arlington, Va. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland volleyball team had a good showing on Wednesday evening when they took on Marymount (Va.) University and won in three sets. This marks the third straight Capital Athletic Conference win for the Seahawks. St. Mary's posted set scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-21.

"What a great volleyball match tonight. Our team came out firing on all cylinders against a very good Marymount team," expressed head coach Jeremy Sands. "The match could have gone to either team at any point but we stayed focused and did the little things right. Grace Chao commanded this offense like a good setter should do and all our attackers played lights out.

Tonight marks St. Mary's first win over Marymount since the Seahawks tallied a 3-1 decision on October 26, 2011, snapping a five-match skid in which all five matches went to five sets.

Junior outside hitter Alli Graf (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the Seahawks (13-7, 3-1 CAC) against Marymount (15-6, 3-1 CAC) by contributing a match-best 15 kills of the Seahawks' 46 total kills. St. Mary's collected 17 and 18 kills in the first and second set of the match, respectively.

The Seahawks overcame an 11-9 deficit in the first set as the team closed out the game on a 16-6 run for the 25-17 win. A. Graf (6 kills) and junior Mimi Graf (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) combined for 11 kills in the first set victory.

Following a 3-2 setback to start the second set, St. Mary's never trailed again in securing the 25-20 win. A. Graf added five more kills while three other Seahawks each picked up four. In the final set, St. Mary's turned around an 18-16 deficit with a 9-3 run as A. Graf and senior middle hitter Mandy Goodspeed (Columbia, Md./Atholton) each had four kills.

Goodspeed helped the Seahawks with nine kills for the match. Setting up the offense for the Seahawks were M. Graf, who had a total of 20 assists, and senior setter Grace Chao (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial)  dished 21 assists.

The Seahawks experienced 10 lead changes throughout the match. St. Mary's also led with six blocks while Marymount finished with three.

Junior libero Carissa Hill (Lanham, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) helped out the defense by recording 14 digs. Rounding out the defense and teamwork were Chao, A. Graf, and senior outside hitter Autumn Fisher (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) with eight digs each. Goodspeed defended the net well with two blocks solos and three block assists.

The Seahawks advanced to a 3-1 in the CAC and look to advance their record on Sunday, October 18 as they take on No. 4 Christopher Newport for Seahawk White Out game and High School Appreciation Day. 

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