VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Marymount women's volleyball opened up their 2025 season with a pair of matches at Virginia Wesleyan University. 

Dropping the first match of the day against the hosting Marlins, the Saints battled back with a 3-0 sweep over Widener to cap off the day and move to 1-1 on the early season.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 3 - MARYMOUNT 1

NOTABLE

• Hailey LaBonte, in her first collegiate match, led the Saints with 11 kills in the early match, hitting at a .276 clip. She added six digs for 11.0 total points.
• Johanna Modica knocked six kills with four digs for 8.0 points.
• Sabrina Schoeberlein and Ava Humphries each notched 13 digs, with Schoeberlein adding three kills and two blocks.
• Jessica Rothermel dished out 11 assists, with teammate Emerson Aber adding nine.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Marlins maintained advantage throughout the first set, taking it in stride 25-11.
• With VWU up 5-4 in the second set of action, Marymount went on a four-point run, capped off by an ace from Modica, to take an 8-5 lead.
• The Marlins held tight, but another quick four-point burst, highlighted by a pair of aces from Humphries, kept Marymount in control of the second set.
• Virginia Wesleyan clawed back to even up the tally at 22 apiece, but an error followed by a Modica kill put the Saints back on top. They took advantage of one more error from the Marlins offense to take set two and even up the match.
• Virginia Wesleyan took an early lead in set three, 4-0. The Saints scored three straight points, looking to sway the momentum.
• The Marlins took advantage of key runs to take set three.
• Down the stretch, Virginia Wesleyan managed to maintain control and take the match.

MARYMOUNT 3 - WIDENER 0

NOTABLE

• LaBonte again led the Saints in game two of the day, knocking nine total kills on an impressive .381 hitting percentage with four digs. 
• Elizabeth Stackpole had eight kills, hitting .467, with a block for 8.5 points.
• Modica collected 13.0 total points on seven aces, six kills, and three digs.
• Schoeberlein finished her strong day with seven kills in the winning match, adding a trio of digs.
• Alexis Bumah had four kills and three digs in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Marymount opened the first set with three straight points, highlighted by a duo of kills fro LaBonte.
• An eight-point streak, with kills from Stackpole and Bumah in the mix, gave Marymount a 10-point advantage.
• A kill from Bumah secured the first set of the match and gave the Saints a 1-0 upper hand.
• Widener worked into a 5-4 lead early in set two, but a 5-1 run from the Saints, capped off by a kill from Stackpole, gave Marymount the lead.
• Continuing to trade blows, Marymount put together a seven-point run with a pair of kills from Modica at the end to gain a nine-point lead.
• Stackpole knocked the decisive kill to give Marymount a 2-0 set lead.
• Widener again remained close throughout the early going of set three, but another extensive run gave Marymount the advantage they needed.
• A six-point run from the Saints gave them a 10-point lead and they never looked back, securing the sweep in the night cap.

UP NEXT

• Marymount will finish up their stint in Virginia Beach tomorrow, taking on Plymouth State at 12 PM.
• They will play their first trio of matches next weekend at the Marymount Quad. 
• The Quad will be played in memory of Maggie Viniard-Choate, a recent Marymount alum that we lost last year after a courageous battle with cancer.
• More information to come on the weekend, stay tuned at MarymountSaints.com.