Arlington, Va. – Marymount University's volleyball team lost a tough Capital Athletic Conference match 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) to visiting St. Mary's (Md.) on Wednesday night. The Saints led 2-1 after three sets but couldn't hold off a late rally by the Seahawks.

Three Saints (4-8, 0-2 CAC) tallied double-figure kills led by Michelle McCormick's match-best 20. Sharda Braxton added 11 while Johanna Hummel chipped in 10. 

Maria Shockman and Melissa Warren each hit .500, contributing seven and six kills, respectively. Hanna House rounded out the MU production with five putaways while Warren paced the offense with a match-high 45 assists.

Defensively, four Saints gathered 10 or more digs with Chelsea Gates pulling in a contest-best 27. Braxton and McCormick logged 12 and 16 digs, respectively, to notch double-doubles while Brianne Fitzpatrick chimed in with 10 from the back row.

Marymount came out swinging in the opening frame, outhitting the Seahawks .343 to .175. McCormick picked up five of her kills in the set while Warren served out the final five points to break open a close 20-18 score.

In the second, St. Mary's (7-4, 1-1 CAC) needed extra points to put away a tenacious comeback attempt from the Saints. Down 12-4 early, Marymount went on a 9-1 to knot things up at 13-13 and make it a game. Battling past regulation, MU held off two match points before eventually succumbing to a pair of kills to end the threat.

Rallying back in the third, the Saints hit a sharp .371 as Braxton, Hummel and McCormick each tallied at least three kills each. McCormick and Hummel put Marymount up 2-1 with back-to-back kills to end the set.

A close first half of the fourth frame turned to the Seahawks favor after a 17-17 tie. St. Mary's finished out the set on an 8-3 run to negate a seven-kill performance by McCormick.

Coming down the fifth, St. Mary's jumped to a 3-1 lead before the Saints rallied back to knot things up at 4-4. The Seahawks would go into the turn up 8-4 before holding off MU with the 15-10 decision.

Michelle Klima led the SMC with 17 kills while Shannon Fitzpatrick had 16 and Clair Kodan added 12.

Marymount returns to action this weekend with three matches against Susquehanna, Franklin & Marshall and Lebanon Valley.