Marist volleyball is ready to forget all about 2024.
Their 3-25 record was one of the worst in program history, proving to be a hard reset after years of consistency in the MAAC Conference. Though it resulted in the most losses in a season in program history, 2024 was undoubtedly an important year of growth for the underclassmen-heavy Red Foxes.
The Red Foxes will lean on their youth again in 2025. Setter and outside hitter Caelyn Dumas and Mallory Reck highlight a group of five freshmen on this year’s roster, adding to a young core with the potential to one day run the MAAC.
While Claire Lewis is back to provide much-needed leadership on and off the court, the Red Foxes nearly lost the graduate student setter to injury for a second consecutive season. Lewis tore her right meniscus and missed the entirety of the 2024 campaign, then, on the third day of preseason practice this year, injured the same knee. After initially being told she needed season-ending surgery, a second diagnosis found she could return to action without needing to go under the knife.
“I was excited to come in and play preseason, and then it kind of got turned upside down,” said Lewis. “I went from getting told my career is over to now being told I get to play in a month. I haven’t really processed everything yet.”
Lewis will miss the first 11 games of their out-of-conference schedule; if all goes to plan, she’ll be available for Marist’s MAAC opener against Rider on Sept. 26.
“The goal is to be back playing the first weekend of MAAC play, and then after that just try and tolerate the pain.”
Claire Lewis
In the meantime, the setting responsibilities fall on the shoulders of Dumas, the only other setter on the roster. Though only a freshman, head coach Sean Byron is already expecting Dumas to play a big role.
Byron planned on running a 6-2, an offensive scheme that features two setters (Lewis and Dumas) and six hitters, before Lewis went down with injury. When she’s out, Marist will run a 5-1 with Dumas as the lone setter.
“I literally had to go to the restroom because I was bawling my eyes out. I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’ I was really scared and nervous,” said Dumas, who originally thought Lewis would miss the whole season. “The coaches, my teammates and Claire have been very supportive in reassuring me that I can do it, but I’m really happy that Claire got that news. I almost started crying again.”
The Red Foxes have another tough out-of-conference schedule awaiting them, but Byron does not expect it to be too overwhelming, as opposed to loading the schedule with teams that should be easy victories. He estimates that all of their opponents are at a similar, if not just a higher level than the top teams in the MAAC, such as Fairfield and Quinnipiac.
“I’m not sure that helps us,” Byron said of scheduling easier opponents. “Yeah, we could go o-fer again. I don’t care. The idea is we’re getting better and we’re getting challenged.”
The games have no bearing on MAAC standings; the Red Foxes will use these games to help gauge what the starting lineup might look like come conference play.
“It would be silly for us to just play seven people and say ‘You seven gotta get better and figure it out,’” said Byron. “Opportunities might come in a couple of times in practice. It might come a couple of points in a match. It might come in a game in a match. It might come the whole match.”
Marist is deep with pin hitters, and they’ll need them. In the 6-2 the Red Foxes will run upon Lewis’s return, they need two players hitting outside and two hitting right side, flanking each middle hitter.
In 2024, underclassmen newcomers made up 73% of Marist’s kills; sophomore transfer Sara Dasic led the team with 316, freshman outside hitter Taylor Miller followed closely with 314 and freshman Sarah Bumstead hit 125 out of the middle – each returns a year older with a full year in Poughkeepsie under their belt.
However, Reck, a freshman this year, has emerged as a steady swing at the outside hitter position.
“She’s able to make small, nuanced changes that we’re asking her to,” said Byron. She’s stuck with some habits that a lot of people would take a month, two months to change. She’s willing to try different things right away.”
Another incoming freshman, Eleana Koute, has made a strong first impression. Standing at 6-foot-4, Koute is a left-handed swinger and a perfect fit for her right-side position. Thanks to her tall frame, Koute can be a dominant blocking force, where she’ll likely be matched up with the opponent’s top hitters.
Although the outside and right-side hitter positions are there for the taking for Marist’s many hitters on the roster, the libero position is truly up for grabs. When healthy, Katherine Thompson occupied libero for the Red Foxes, but transferred to South Dakota following her sophomore season in 2024. Juniors Claudia Kasperski and CC Potter-Pessoa, sophomore Nikki Patton and freshman Haylee Wenner each bring different skills to the table.
“They’re all the same, but they’re all very different,” said Byron. “One’s a good server, but is a poor setter. One’s a good setter, but can’t serve. One’s a good digger, but can’t serve. One’s kind of a medium digger, medium server… what do you need?”
The good news for Byron is they have plenty of time to figure out these positional battles; there are 11 games and four weeks before conference play begins.
In the annual MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Marist ranked eighth of 12 teams, tied for the spot with Merrimack; the Red Foxes also did not have any members make the Preseason All-MAAC team. Based on their performance alone in 2024, it’s a fair ranking, but the Red Foxes have higher expectations for themselves this year.
“I feel like it makes sense from our performance last year, but I don’t think it’s accurate,” said Lewis.
“We have the potential to be a really competitive team this year,” added Bumstead. “I don’t think we’ll be staying in eighth in the MAAC.”
Byron is not worried about where the other coaches think his squad will finish in 2025; the coaches, including himself, vote largely based on last year’s results and who from those teams are returning. Most coaches don’t account for incoming freshmen, whom they have not seen play.
“I’m not really concerned with a preseason poll where other coaches think we are, because they clearly don’t see our gym,” Byron said. “They don’t see our attacking, they don’t see our competitiveness, they don’t see the culture, they don’t see the physicality.”
Before the Red Foxes can try and prove the MAAC wrong in conference play, they open their season on Aug. 29 against Liberty at 11 a.m. at the Buffalo Invite.
“I love being an underdog, so I’m excited.”
Mallory Reck
Edited by Ryan Eichem and Max Rosen
Graphic by Cara Lacey
Photos by Marist Athletics
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