Exactly one year to the day from their quarterfinal loss in last year’s MAAC Tournament to Iona, another Marist volleyball season has come to a close; this time, a 3-1 loss to Niagara.
The seasons played out vastly differently. In 2023, the Red Foxes had their high championship hopes dashed in a heartbreaking loss. One full year later, the loss to the Purple Eagles (15-14, 11-7 MAAC Conference) acted as a formality for Marist (3-25, 3-15 MAAC), officially wrapping up their season on a five-match losing streak.
In the loss, the Red Foxes had three hitters swing for double-digit kills, freshman outside hitter Taylor Miller had 14, freshman middle hitter Sarah Bumstead followed with 13 and sophomore outside hitter Sara Dasic rounded the group out with 10.
Marist utilized strong serving in the early going; three aces highlighted their effort from the line, but the Red Foxes also fired plenty of serves that the Niagara back row struggled to control. The Purple Eagles, often out of the system, had as many kills as attack errors at the media timeout, while Marist led 15-11.
The Red Foxes kept applying pressure after the brief break. Sophomore setter Kaitlyn Owens landed back-to-back aces amidst a 6-0 run, stretching Marist to a 21-14 lead. Niagara served strong from the line as well, with four aces of their own, but Marist reached set point first with six points of breathing room.
Niagara did not go down without a fight, scoring five straight to cut the deficit to one on a kill from junior outside hitter Sydney Wilkes. Marist called timeout to regroup, aiming to make sure not to let the healthy lead turn into a loss in the waning moments of the set.
“They did a lot of work to get back and close the gap, but it was really just up to us to make sure we stayed calm and focused,” said graduate student setter/right-side hitter Jamison White.
Sophomore middle blocker Trinity Woods finally put the set to bed, drilling a kill to break a nine-set losing streak for the Red Foxes, dating back to their five-set loss at Merrimack on Nov. 9.
The Red Foxes leaned on Bumstead, who pounded five kills, topping her season average of 4.15 kills a match in just one set of play.
“We got her sets early to attack, and then once she gets in rhythm she plays with good energy and confidence,” said Marist head coach Sean Byron.
Bumstead ended the afternoon with 13 kills, tying her season high. The freshman has shown great progress and credits her growth to her fellow middle hitter, senior Alyssa White.
“[The seniors] have been so kind and motivating, especially Alyssa as another middle,” said Bumstead, “She’s been the most amazing mentor.”
Marist upped their aggression in the second set, earning 11 of their first 15 points on kills. Consequently, the Red Foxes committed five attack errors to help Niagara stay within reach, trailing by only three at the media timeout.
The Purple Eagles ultimately fought back to tie the set at 19, then took back the lead thanks to an ace that fell untouched on the end line from senior libero Bella Peroni. They never relinquished the advantage, dominating the end of the set to win 25-20 when senior middle blocker Laryssa Imbuzeiro dunked an overpass onto Marist’s side of the floor.
After splitting the first two sets, Niagara and Marist stayed even throughout the beginning half of the third, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage. The back-and-forth play continued into the media timeout when sophomore setter Paisley Ka’ahanui served back-to-back aces to put the Purple Eagles up 15-14.
Niagara took the first prolonged lead soon after that, scoring four of the next five points to prompt a Marist timeout. Out of the break, Miller hitter tipped an attack into the net, then swung out of bounds, leading to another timeout. Errors plagued Marist throughout the set; the Red Foxes committed 10 attack errors instead of 12 kills and missed two serves.
Tough Niagara serving kept Marist off-balanced, as the Purple Eagles tallied six aces en route to another 25-20 victory, earning themselves a crucial 2-1 lead. They built off their strong finish to the third with a hot start in the fourth, taking a commanding 8-3 lead. From there, the Purple Eagles pulled away to handily take the set, never letting Marist back in it.
Niagara hit an astounding .448 in the final set of play, powering them to a decisive 25-14 victory.
Sunday’s loss closes the book on Marist’s 2024 season, which saw them lose the most games in a season since 1995. A transition year of sorts, the Red Foxes took a step backward from their previous three seasons, where they finished in the top three in the MAAC.
There is plenty of reason for the Red Foxes to remain hopeful for the future; for one, their top three leaders in kills on the season are all underclassmen. Though Marist now begins looking to the future, they will leave behind a few seniors who played their last career volleyball games this afternoon.
“I really love my teammates here and they’ve been great for me the whole season,” said Jamison White, who transferred to Marist as a graduate student for the last year of her collegiate eligibility. “I learned a lot about myself and how to build relationships quickly because it was only one year.”
Marist now gets a week headstart on their offseason, while the top eight teams in the MAAC will compete next weekend at Siena for the conference’s title and the bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes along with it.
“Personally, I need to work on my vertical a lot,” said Bumstead. “For me, it’s going to be a big building season… trying to make sure that I’m getting into good habits.”
The Red Foxes will have a long offseason before the 2025 campaign begins in late August. Marist will aim to right the ship this offseason and put the losing season behind, hoping to return to the MAAC Tournament, which is still vying for its first conference championship in program history.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Ricky Torres
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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