Union College Athletics

HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Union College women's volleyball team concluded its regular season with two 3-0 losses to Montclair State University and #25 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon inside Canavan Arena and now turns its attention to defending home court against Clarkson University in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday.

Montclair State 3, Union 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-21)
The Garnet Chargers (18-12) battled Montclair State closely on the neutral court to start the day, led by nine kills each from senior Erin Stevens and first-year Johanna Melhorn. Both players hit over .400 in the match with only three combined errors between them. 

Union dropped the first set despite holding a 15-11 lead, and then a strong offensive showing from Union nearly tied up the match in the second. Junior Kayla Martinez Cartagena, junior Georgia Pinciaro, Stevens, and Melhorn all put down four kills in the second set. Melhorn was nearly flawless in the frame with no errors on five swings, also getting in on a block. 

Martinez Cartagena gave her team a look at set point after a kill at 24-23, but Montclair State came up with back-to-back blocks to go up 25-24 and then put Union away with a kill from Bryn Bautista.

Bautista finished with 17 kills in the match after putting down four in the final set. Montclair State had five total blocks in the third as well, holding Union to a .027 attack percentage. Melhorn momentarily injected some life into the Garnet Chargers late, putting up two kills and a block solo on a six-point run that had Union up 19-17. However, Montclair State scored on eight of the next 10 points to wrap up Union's penultimate regular-season match.

#25 Stevens 3, Union 0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-17)
The Garnet Chargers ran into a stout Stevens (25-3) defense in the nightcap, suffering from 47 receptions on the serve for the Ducks without an error. It was the first time Union has not had a service ace in a match since Sept. 1, 2023, also against Stevens.

First-year Vanessa Morgan put up a strong defensive effort of her own, getting 10 digs and 19 receptions. After totaling 15 digs in the match against Montclair State earlier in the day, Morgan notched the fifth double-digit dig performance in a three-set match of her rookie season. 

The Garnet Chargers bounced back after a rough first set on the attack and had 11 kills in the second. Pinciaro and Martinez Cartagena both had four kills, and Melhorn had a pair of winners along with three block assists. However, after giving up an 11-7 advantage, the Garnet Chargers never played with the lead again in the rest of the second or the third and fell in straight sets to the home side. 

Union accumulated 18 wins in the regular season during head coach John Carroll's inaugural season at the helm. Carroll leads his team into the postseason as the fourth-seeded team in the league, also owning a pair of seven-match winning streaks during the year. 

First serve of the playoffs inside Viniar Athletic Center against the Golden Knights will come just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10.