ARLINGTON, Va.—The Marymount (Va.) University women's volleyball team outlasted Catholic University of America in a five-set battle on Wednesday night. The Saints improved to 18-6 overall this season after battling past the Cardinals, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22. 19-25, 15-9).

The opening set proved to be a battle from the first serve, going point-for-point until the Saints pulled ahead 15-11 to force a timeout by the Cardinals. Marymount left the timeout and added four-straight points to the scoreboard to lead by eight before Catholic would strike back. CU battled back to get within two of the Saints, forcing Marymount to take a timeout at 21-19. In a last-ditch effort, the Cardinals managed to get ahead and take set one, 25-23. 

In the second set, the momentum shifted back-and-forth between both squads through most of the set. The Saints built a three-point lead at 19-16 before the Cardinals burned their first timeout. MU maintained a two-point advantage before CUA took another timeout at 21-19. Junior Margaret McAlpin finished set two on a kill to put Marymount on top, 25-21, to draw the match even at 1-1.

The Saints trailed early on in set three, but pieced together a 5-0 run sparked by a kill from sophomore Ashton Walker to regain the lead at 17-15.  Catholic was forced to use its first timeout of the set, but it proved ineffective as McAlpin came out swinging to notch another kill on the night. The Saints pushed through to reach 22-18 and force the Cardinals to use their last timeout. Sophomore Caroline Hanson fed senior Emileigh Rettig for the last point of the set to win, 25-22.

In set four, the Saints fell behind 6-1 before Head Coach Beth Ann Wilson took a timeout. The Cardinals reached a nine-point advantage forcing the Saints to use their final timeout early in the set, 11-2. The Saints didn't back down and fought back to get within six before Catholic took a timeout at 24-18. The final effort by MU was not enough as CUA took set four, 25-19, to force a deciding game.

The fifth and final set of the night proved to be another tough battle. The Saints picked up the pace on offense to take an early 6-2 lead. A 3-1 run led by back-to-back kills from Hanson and a kill by senior Mallory Mitchell forced the Cardinals to take a timeout at 9-4. The timeout didn't faze the Saints, extending their lead to 11-7 forcing a timeout by the Cardinals. MU outlasted CU in set five to prevail on top, 15-9.

Hanson pieced together an impressive match overall, notching 11 kills, 28 assists, 18 digs, and five block assists. On the offensive end, McAlpin paced the Saints with a match-high 16 kills and a .429 hitting percentage, followed by Rettig with 10 kills. Junior Christine Tieman added 24 assists and fifteen digs. On the defensive end, freshman libero Theresa Buscemi picked up a match-high 22 digs.

The women will head on the road to face Capital Athletic Conference opponent Southern Virginia University on Saturday night. First serve is set 5 p.m.