MARYVILLE – Maryville kept the good vibes going on Opening Weekend with a sweep of Washington & Lee and Mount Aloysius. It was a highlight of Friday's action in the Maryville College Labor Day Invitational.
The Scots are 3-0 for the first time since 2014 behind a solid mixture of veterans and youth.
"There is a lot of teaching going on," Maryville head coach
Kandis Schram said. "From us, from each other and seniors, but also, it's really cool when I see even freshmen teaching seniors by talking. Sometimes the best lessons are questions that seem silly but having to teach that back, the light bulb goes off. It's nice to see that interaction."
Schram scheduled this home tournament as a reward for her senior class.
"It was about playing good teams but also being at home," Schram said. "We've had two years of being very road weary. But with this many seniors, giving them the opportunity to play in front of home crowds was really important."
One of those thankful seniors is
Meredith Bonee, who eclipsed 2,500 career assists Friday after posting 48 against Washington & Lee and 26 versus Mount Aloysius. She also likes how the early going is transpiring for the Scots
"It feels very promising, very encouraging," said Bonee, who officially has 2,505 assists. "We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and then there are a lot of seniors. It's good that we are building that culture and just having a good time. It's fun playing out there right now.
"We didn't play a whole lot of home games last year, so getting to play most of this month at home is a blessing. We are super excited to have a home crowd and family here. Today's wins were a huge step for us, and it is building a lot of confidence."
Maryville 3, Mount Aloysius 0
Maryville handled the visitors from Pennsylvania with relative ease, winning in straight sets 25-9, 25-11 and 25-19.
Maryville scored the first four points of the match and the Mounties the next four. After that, it was all Scots. Maryville ended the match on a 21-5 run with
Hannah Potts leading the way with five kills.
In Set 2, there were three ties and two early lead changes before the Scots broke in front 11-4 on a kill by
Landry Frisch. It was a balanced attack up front, with Frisch,
Amii Ingalls and
Isabella Samson all posting three kills.
Mount Aloysius made a game of it in Set 3. The Mounties scored four straight to pull within 18-17 before Maryville finished the match on a 7-2 run.
Ingalls led the Scots with eight kills, and Amy Sokolow was tops with nine digs.
Maryville 3, Washington & Lee 1
In Thursday's first match, the Scots played four tough sets against a Washington & Lee squad that last season finished 26-8 and went undefeated through the ODAC regular season and tournament.
Maryville prevailed 25-21, 25-20, 20-25 and 25-21.
A fourth set turnaround midway through that stanza assured Maryville of the victory.
The Scots trailed 10-7 and looked to be in danger of dropping a second consecutive set to the Generals after bolting to a 2-0 lead. But with
Meredith Bonee serving a couple of aces, Maryville reeled off six straight points to take a 13-10 advantage.
Washington & Lee pulled into a 17-17 tie, but the Generals never regained the lead.
Hannah Kammer provided the final two points with a kill and an ace to ice it for the Scots.
Reese Bailey blasted eight kills in Set 1 alone to hand Maryville some early momentum. There were five ties in this set but only one lead change when the Scots took the upper hand for keeps at 3-2. Maryville led by as much as 10-4 before the Generals rallied to tie at 17, 18 and 19 all. But one final push from the Scots saw Bailey with a pair of kills and Frisch one of her own in the 25-21 win.
In Set 2, there were five ties and four lead changes, but Maryville at 6-5 grabbed the lead for keeps. The Scots led 19-11 after a pair of Bonee service aces and
Hannah Potts provided the winning point with her fifth kill of the set to make it 25-20.
Washington & Lee rallied in Set 3, taking control at 14-13 and never relinquishing the lead. The Generals won the attack battle, finishing the set at .364 to Maryville's .095 in the 25-20 W&L decision.
Bonee had a double-double with 48 assists and 15 digs, while Samson was the kills leader with 12 and Bailey added 10. Sokolow contributed 25 digs
Saturday's Schedule
10 a.m. – Rhodes vs. Mount Aloysius
Noon – Maryville vs. Sewanee
2 p.m. – Washington & Lee vs. Johnson
4 p.m. – Maryville vs. Rhodes
6 p.m. – Washington & Lee vs. Sewanee
