Marywood volleyball started its conference season with a win against Gwynedd Mercy 3-0. After winning a match against Rutgers-Newark, the team is now 18-1 overall and one step closer to making it to the conference playoffs.
The Pacers and the Griffins were neck and neck for much of the first set but the Pacers were always one step ahead. In the final serve when the score was 24-22, middle blocker Taylor Hallam sent the final kill with an assist from setter Ayla Bransford. The Pacers won the first set 25-22.
Despite the close call in the first set, the Pacers overtook the Griffins in the second and third sets with a score of 25-14 and 25-17. Big players from the game include outside hitter Carolina Samaniego (13 kills, two aces, one block), Hallam (10 kills, two blocks), right-side opposite hitter Genieve Pollock (six kills), and outside hitter Gracee Work (four kills).
Head Coach Meagen Eddinger has previously coached at Keystone College and SUNY Broome. During her tenure at Keystone, she brought the team from three wins in 2021 to 20 in 2024.
This season is Eddinger’s first at Marywood and she has brought the volleyball team wins on and off the court, which she accounts to the bond that the team has built.
“I think getting our team culture going, getting to a place where we’re taking care of each other off the court as well. We want to show up, we want to work hard for each other every day, and we really enjoy coming to practice and putting the work in,” she said. “They’re great at supporting one another on and off the court which then to see that translate to success obviously with having a really successful win record has been a really rewarding thing.”
Sophomore Genieve Pollock followed Eddinger to Marywood from Keystone and has seen what Eddinger brings to the team.
“She’s honestly just amazing and has created such a good culture and environment for us to buy into and work towards,” Pollock said. “Coach wanted to bring the same environment from Keystone and everyone on the team has been buying into it and it has created an awesome season for us.”
Going into their conference season, the team has high hopes. Eddinger states, “We set really big goals for us going into the season with it being our last season being in the Atlantic East we really want to try to bring home the conference championship. The volleyball team here has not won a conference championship since 1993 so we would really love to do that and go out with a high note heading into the MAC.”
Pollock states, “I would love to win conference. I think it would be awesome and a great opportunity for us. All the girls on our team and coaches have worked so hard this season and we’ve put so much work into this so it would be great to take home the championship.”
The Pacers face off in their next conference game on Oct. 17 against Marymount University. If they make it to the Atlantic East Conference playoffs, the first match will be on Nov. 11.
All stats are from MarywoodPacers.com as of Oct. 14
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