KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 13, 2025) – The 2025 USMMA women's volleyball season came to an end on Thursday night, as the #2-seed Mariners lost to visiting #3-seed St. Joseph's-Long Island in another exciting five-set match, 26-24, 15-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-11, in the Skyline Conference Semifinals. With the loss, the Mariners' record fell to 16-11, while St. Joseph's improved to 17-9 and will move on to the Skyline Championship Match at top-seed Manhattanville this Saturday.
This was the fourth-straight meeting in the Skyline Semis between Merchant Marine and the Golden Eagles, and the third-straight to go five sets. The Mariners swept in 2022, St. Joseph's won the five-setter in 2023, USMMA claimed the victory last year, also in five sets and this season went to SJLI. It was also the Mariners' the third-straight match against St. Joe's that went five sets, as the regular season match at USMMA three weeks ago resulted in a reverse sweep by KP.
Match Links
Sophomore
Maddie Mayer (Centennial, Colo.) led the Mariners with 14 kills on .364 hitting while adding seven total blocks (two solo) and two digs for a match-high 18.5 points. Freshman
Sofia Dohr (Austerlitz, N.Y.) turned in one of her strongest performances with 10 kills, three blocks and 11.5 points, and classmate
Carly Soboloski (Peoria, Ariz.) contributed 12 kills and 20 digs for a double-double. Junior
Erin Stillinger (Keller, Texas) added 11 kills and eight digs, while senior libero
Stephanie Schatzman (Virginia Beach, Va.) anchored the defense with a match-high 32 digs while also dishing out eight assists.
Freshman setter
Emma Borlie (Baltimore, Md.) registered 27 assists, four aces and picked up a double-double with 19 digs, and sophomore
Sydney Douglas (Herndon, Va.) finished with seven kills, 15 digs, two aces and seven blocks. Sophomore
Jenny Dyke (Grand Rapids, Mich.) chipped in with four kills and tied Mayer and Douglas for the match-high with seven blocks.
USMMA and St. Joseph's-L.I. traded points throughout a tightly contested opening set that featured numerous ties and momentum swings. After falling behind early, the Mariners used kills from Mayer, Douglas and Dyke to move ahead 5–2, and later extended the lead to 8–4 after back-to-back kills by Dohr and Soboloski. St. Joseph's gradually climbed back, capitalizing on several USMMA attack errors to pull even at 12–12 and again at 13–13. Dohr and Soboloski responded with consecutive kills to help the Mariners regain a 16–14 edge, but the Golden Eagles answered with a 5–0 run to go ahead 20–18. Soboloski's ace and a Douglas/Dyke block pulled USMMA back within one at 21–20 and later tied the score at 23–23, but St. Joseph's closed the frame with a kill, a block and an ace to take the set, 26–24
The Mariners controlled the second set from start to finish, using a series of early blocks to establish momentum. Mayer, Stillinger and Douglas teamed up for multiple stuffs as the Mariners pushed ahead 6–2, and Dohr added a kill to force a St. Joseph's timeout at 7–2. After the break, Dyke and Soboloski contributed kills during a 6–1 stretch that extended the lead to 13–6. Borlie sparked another run with a kill, an ace and a pair of well-placed sets that led to three straight kills by Stillinger and Mayer, pushing the margin to 20–8. Soboloski closed the frame with back-to-back kills, giving USMMA the 25–15 win and evening the match at one set apiece
USMMA jumped out to a 6–0 start in the third set with help from a Schatzman ace and several Golden Eagle errors, eventually extending the lead to 8–1 after a Mayer kill. St. Joseph's worked back to tie it at 13–13 before Douglas briefly reclaimed the lead with a kill, but the hosts responded with an ace and a kill to move ahead 16–14. Mayer later delivered two kills and a block to knot the frame again at 17–17, and the teams traded points to 23–23. St. Joseph's closed the set with a Nieradko kill and a Mariner error to take it, 25–23.
USMMA found itself in deep trouble late in the fourth set, as St. Joseph's built a sizable lead and eventually earned match point at 24–22. But the Mariners mounted a remarkable late surge, sparked by back-to-back kills from Stillinger to erase the deficit and tie the frame. Schatzman then delivered another kill to give USMMA set point, and Mayer capped the comeback with a put-away to complete a 4–0 closing run and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
St. Joseph's opened the fifth set with a steady push, but USMMA hung close early after capitalizing on several Hawk errors to stay within 4–3. The hosts then used an ace and a pair of kills to create separation at 7–3, and although the Mariners answered with swings from Soboloski and Mayer to narrow the deficit to 11–9, St. Joseph's regained control out of a timeout. Dyke added a late kill and Douglas helped extend the frame with a block, but the Hawks ultimately closed out the set, sealing the match on a final USMMA attack error to take the decider 15–11.
St. Joseph's was led offensively by Luciana D'Ambrosio, who finished with a match-high 15 kills to go along with seven digs, four total blocks and 17.5 points. Alison Tsororos added eight kills, three aces and nine digs, while Isabella Nieradko contributed five kills with three total blocks. Setter Sarah Meininger paced the Hawks' offense with 36 assists and added 15 digs for a double-double. Defensively, libero Sarah Montefusco anchored the back row with a team-high 26 digs.
Receive USMMA Women's Volleyball News Right To Your E-Mail!
If you would like to receive all the latest news on the USMMA women's volleyball team (or any other team at the Academy), including all press releases, delivered directly to your inbox,
fill out this form.
Follow USMMA Athletics On Social Media!
Be sure to follow USMMA Athletics on social media to get up-to-the-minute updates on your favorite teams! Start following today on
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram and
YouTube!
