NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — 

The Coast Guard Academy volleyball team suffered 1-3 losses to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Christopher Newport University on Saturday. The losses close out Coast Guard's season-opening trip this weekend to CNU's Captains Classic tournament, from which they'll return to New London with a 1-2 record.

Both Whitewater and Newport are starting their seasons ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's preseason poll, with Whitewater slotting in at No. 2 following their 2024 national championship game appearance and Newport holding the No. 21 spot.

Sarah Somer (Cary, N.C.) and Eloise Shirley (Rock Island, Ill.) both tallied 9.0 points to lead the Bears in the first match of the day; Somer got hers on seven kills and two solo blocks, while Shirley converted nine kills on a .364 hitting percentage, leading Coast Guard with both. Ava Ahokovi (Honolulu, Hawai'i) had the team-high 22 assists, while Sophia Rosenberg (Hershey, Pa.) also reached double-digits with 13. Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.) led the Bears in digs with 15, followed by Laila Baameur's (Bakersfield, Calif.) 13 and ten for Amelia Matson's (Mililani, Hawai'i); Matson also contributed eight kills for 8.0 points.

The first set started with Coast Guard closely trailing Whitewater, 6-9, before the Warhawks made some cushion with a 7-1 run. Sam Ventimiglia (Key West, Fla.) converted a kill with help from Ahokovi to stop the streak at 16-8. The rest of the set featured back-and-forth action, outside of respective three-point runs for both teams, before Abbie Dix ultimately delivered the clinching point for the Warhawks at 25-17 off of a feed from Aubrie Krzus.

The second set was similar to the first. The Bears were once again on the heels of Whitewater, trailing just 4-7, before the Warhawks went on a 17-7 run to bring it to set point. A kill by Shirley by way of Rosenberg, followed by an ace by Dylan Elferdink (Hernando Beach, Fla.) and a Whitewater attack error, allowed Coast Guard to get three points back before Emily Lego converted a kill with help from Krzus to take the set at 25-14.

The Bears brought their best for the third set, which could only be described as a tug-of-war effort. Once again, Coast Guard trailed early on, 6-9, before rattling off four consecutive kills to take their first lead of the day. The Bears found themselves behind again later, 14-16, before scoring four consecutive points again, all thanks to Whitewater attack errors. Eventually, both teams found themselves tied at 26 before an Elferdink kill on an Ahokovi feed gave Coast Guard the set-point advantage. Somer was able to give her team the 28-26 set victory by meeting Amanda Hillman at the net. The Bears

Much like the first two sets, the fourth started with the Bears trailing closely at 7-9 before Whitewater retook control, setting up match point by going on a 15-3 run. The Bears took back four points via an ace by Ventimiglia and three Whitewater attacking errors before Krzus clinched the 25-15 set win and 3-1 match victory with a kill.

The second game of the day saw Somer tally 15.0 points on 15 kills, career-highs in both marks for Coast Guard's senior captain. Ahokovi served up 33 assists while Rosenberg recorded 12. Four Bears hit double-digits in digs, led by Baameur with 26. Shire had 19, Matson had 15, and Ahokovi had 13.

The first set of a competitive one, with neither team extending their lead by more than four points. Newport was ahead early at 8-4, but Coast Guard was able to go on a 5-1 run with three kills and a pair of errors by the Captains. Newport was able to get out to another four-point lead at 22-18 later on, but another small run by the Bears allowed them to tie their hosts at 25. Newport took advantage of a Bears attack error to get the set point advantage before taking the opener, 27-25, on a Samantha Dorn kill, assisted by Lauren Hobbs.

Coast Guard was firing on all cylinders in the second set, taking an early 9-3 lead thanks to seven kills by the team and an ace by Rosenberg. The Bears hit a match-high .308 in the set and extended their lead to 11 points three times before eventually taking the set at 25-14 to even the match.

The Captains opened the third set with a 10-3 run to place Coast Guard in an early deficit. The Bears were able to narrow the gap to five points at 9-14 following a kill by Matson, but Newport eventually put the set away at 25-16 after an Alyssa Dozier kill, assisted by Fielding Croft.

The Bears showed tenacity in their fourth set performance. Following a back-and-forth exchange early on, Newport was able to get match point with a 24-20 lead before allowing Coast Guard to get within one after three consecutive errors. Back-to-back kills on connections between Ahokovi and Elferdink gave the Bears a 25-24 lead. Both teams traded leads and ties until a kill by Matson from Ahokovi locked it up at 32. Newport then converted on back-to-back kills to take a wild final set, 34-32, and clinch the match at 3-1.

Following the final match of the Captains Classic between Whitewater and Catholic, Ahokovi and Ventmiglia were recognized as selections for the weekend's All-Tournament Team. 

Bears volleyball is back in action on Tuesday, September 2nd, playing on the road at Westfield State University. The Bears have won their last three match-ups with the Owls, including a sweep in last year's meet-up.