Marist volleyball, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Annie DeLoid, enters conference play looking to carry over progress made through a challenging non-conference schedule.
Marist finished 10-20 overall and 8-10 in conference play last season, missing the playoffs following a 3-0 loss to Rider on Nov. 15. Now, with DeLoid in the driver’s seat, Marist won five non-conference games—a three game improvement from last season—and enters Metro play looking to continue establishing a new identity and make a postseason push.
“I think it’s exciting because it’s a new thing for a lot of us,” said coach DeLoid. “We’re kind of going into it with a fresh mindset. Obviously, they’ve had experience with these teams in the past but it’s a brand new program for us; it’s a brand new Metro.”
That new mindset has been a focus for the Red Foxes since DeLoid took over the program. After a difficult season last year, building a stronger team culture has been one of the biggest changes, with an emphasis on playing for one another and creating a more connected group.
“Our culture was very poor before Annie got here, and I think she’s done a really good job bringing it together,” said sophomore captain and outside hitter Mallory Reck. “Making us realize this is a team sport, and you can’t be successful when you’re selfish; that’s just not how you’re going to win games. It may work short-term, but long-term that’s not how you build a program or a winning, successful team.”
The team-first approach will be especially important as Marist begins conference play. In the gym, the Red Foxes have worked on building a strong dynamic and consistently supporting one another.
“We have a really tight-knit culture, and people support each other a ton, and I think it really does reflect in our play,” said DeLoid.
The Red Foxes will look to build on that foundation while continuing to improve defensively. Blocking and defense have been an area of emphasis with the team working to become more aggressive and consistent on that side of the net.
“Our defense and blocking have been a huge struggle for us,” Reck said. “In our gym we’ve worked on a lot of defensive blocking.”
DeLoid believes that improvement starts with changing the team’s mindset on the court.
“It is the physical piece, but it’s also the idea of going for everything, being gritty, being scrappy,” said DeLoid. “If a ball is outside our range, we don’t think we can get it, so we’re trying to flip that in practice right now.”
While defense remains an area of focus, the team’s offense has been one of Marist’s biggest strengths. The Red Foxes have been able to spread the ball around and get contributions from multiple positions, creating a balanced attack heading into conference play.
Marist has continued to receive production from its sophomore captains, Reck and setter Caelyn Dumas. Reck currently ranks sixth in the country in kills, while Dumas ranks third nationally in total assists.
“We’ve been able to score, be productive; our setters have done a really good job of moving the ball around and getting our middles involved,” said coach DeLoid. “Obviously, Mallory’s had an amazing season so far, so she’s been a really big highlight.”
Their contributions have been an important part of Marist’s offense; however, their value extends beyond their statistics. DeLoid emphasized how important each of them has been as captains and leaders.
Beyond Reck and Dumas, junior middle blocker Sarah Bumstead and freshman middle blocker/outside hitter have supported the offense with 120 and 92 kills respectively. Senior outside hitter Sara Dasic, who has been a stalwart for Marist through the team’s struggles over recent seasons, has 56 of her own.
As conference play begins, Marist will also need to find consistency throughout their lineup. The team has shown flashes of the volleyball they are capable of playing, but have not yet maintained that level over multiple matches.
“They haven’t shown who we consistently are,” said DeLoid. “We have really good moments, really good sets, even really good games where we leave the floor and we’re like, ‘that was us, that’s what we look like every day in the gym,’ but there’s been some games in particular, even some sets here and there where we finish and we think that wasn’t us at all.”
With conference play bringing a new level of competition, Marist looks to stay focused on what it can control and continue playing with the same confidence it showed at times throughout the nonconference schedule. They will also look to put an emphasis on controlling their side of the net rather than focusing too heavily on the opponent.
For a team that missed the postseason a year ago, the goal is clear. At the same time, DeLoid wants Marist to keep that goal from becoming a distraction.
“One game at a time mentality, I don’t want us to make it too big, or bigger than it has to be; at the end of the day, it’s just volleyball.” DeLoid said.
For the players who have been through repeated disappointment in recent years, reaching the postseason would carry significant meaning.
“It would mean everything,” Reck said. “We have a lot of seniors who have been here a long time, and a lot of them haven’t had the best experience. So, doing it for them and giving them a good experience to end it on would mean the most.”
The Red Foxes begin conference play tonight at 6 p.m. on the road against Rider.
Edited by August Lieverman and Max Rosen
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photos by Quinn DiFiore
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