MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME VOLLEYBALL

Second Round – Seventh Annual Maritime Classic

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Clean Harbors Athletic Center, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          MAINE MARITIME 3, SUNY-MARITIME 1

                                    (Game Scores:  22-25, 25-8, 25-17, 25-15)

GAME #2 FINAL:          MERCHANT MARINE 3, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 0

                                    (Game Scores:  25-8, 25-14, 25-15)

GAME #3 FINAL:          MAINE MARITIME 3, MERCHANT MARINE 0

                                    (Game Scores:  25-18, 25-18, 25-17)

GAME #4 FINAL:          SUNY-MARITIME 3, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 0

                                    (Game Scores:  25-22, 25-19, 25-19)

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Tournament Most Valuable Player Gillian O’Neal (Burbank, Calif.) notched a double-double effort of 14 kills and 11 digs to lead Maine Maritime to a 3-0 victory over Merchant Marine in the championship match of the Seventh Annual Maritime Volleyball Classic played Sunday afternoon at Massachusetts Maritime’s Clean Harbors Athletic Center.

Sophomore Tess Clark (Spring, Tex.) added 11 kills and five digs in Maine Maritime’s (7-3) 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 title match triumph, while the Mariners also received 19 set assists, nine digs and six kills from freshman Sydney Adams (Trumbull, Conn.).  Sophomore Melissa Spaulding (Fairbanks, Ak.) collected 19 set assists for the champions, who also received 16 digs from freshman Maria Perez (San Juan, P.R.) in claiming their fourth tournament crown overall.

Junior Dominique Pope (Silver Spring, Md.) recorded seven kills and six digs in the title match setback for Merchant Marine (3-3), which also received four kills each from sophomores Nicole Ibinson (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Kate Lefler (Norman, Okla.).  Freshman Kyleigh Kappas (Parker, Colo.) chipped in with 17 set assists and six digs for the Mariners, who also received 11 digs from senior Gabby Marionakis (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.).

Maine Maritime began the day with a 3-1 second round win over SUNY-Maritime, as O’Neal (19) and Clark (13) combined for 32 kills while each recording nine digs in the 22-25, 25-8, 25-17, 25-15 triumph.  Adams added 22 set assists, 10 digs and eight kills for the Mariners, which also received 20 set assists and five digs from Spaulding to go with 16 digs from Perez.  Senior Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y.) paced SUNY-Maritime (5-5) with 10 digs, seven kills and three service aces in the opening setback, while junior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y.) added five kills and five digs.  Sophomore Meredith Hayes (Houston, Tex.) also notched five kills for the Privateers, who also received 15 set assists and six digs from senior Erika Bailey (Newark Valley, N.Y.) as well as 15 digs from junior Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.).

Merchant Marine posted a 3-0 second round win over host Massachusetts Maritime in the second match of the day by game scores of 25-8, 25-14 and 25-15, as Pope paced the Mariners with 12 kills and five digs.  Lefler added seven kills and three digs for the winners, who also received six kills and four digs from Ibinson to go with 38 set assists, six digs and three service aces from Kappas.  Senior Charleen Klangos (Lowell, Mass.) paced the Buccaneers (1-10) with seven digs and four kills in the Merchant Marine setback, while sophomore Jennifer Roy (Attleboro, Mass.) added three kills.  Freshmen Christina Ruggeri (Bourne, Mass.) and Michelle Sheehan (Attleboro, Mass.) also chipped in with 14 digs and six set assists, respectively, for the hosts.

SUNY-Maritime capped this year’s tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Massachusetts Maritime in the third place contest by game scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-19, as Lombardo posted a double-double effort of 14 kills and 12 digs in the triumph.  Brady added 10 kills and eight digs for the Privateers, who also received nine kills from Hayes.  Bailey recorded 34 set assists and seven digs for the winners, while Kempski collected 10 digs.  Klangos paced the Buccaneers with seven kills and five digs, while freshman Marie Harrison (Weymouth, Mass.) chipped in with seven digs and four kills in the setback for the hosts.  Roy notched four digs and three kills for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received 12 digs from Ruggeri as well as nine digs and eight set assists from senior Emma Ethier (Norton, Mass.).

O’Neal was joined on the Maritime Classic all-tournament team by teammates Clark and Perez, while Lefler and Kappas represented Merchant Marine.  SUNY-Maritime’s Hayes and Massachusetts Maritime’s Klangos completed this year’s honorees.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Becker in a non-league outing on Tuesday evening at the Clean Harbors Athletic Center beginning at 7:00 p.m., while Maine Maritime travels to Waterville, Maine on Saturday morning for a non-league tri-match with host Colby and Bates at 11:00 a.m.  SUNY-Maritime heads into New York City on Wednesday evening for a Skyline Conference clash with Yeshiva that begins at 7:00 p.m., while Merchant Marine also travels into New York City on Tuesday evening to square off with Hunter in a non-league match beginning at 6:00 p.m.

(Photo Credit:  Justin Reidy '19)