Box Score NEW LONDON, Conn. –

In the first matchup for the 2026-27 USAA Superintendent's Trophy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine did not disappoint with a five-set thriller in which the Bears came out on top by a score of 3-2(23-25, 26-24, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13). The loss is the first of the season for KP, who falls to 3-1. They will open up Skyline Conference action this Friday September 11th at 7:00 pm vs Old Westbury. The Bears in turn, get back up to .500 at 2-2.

Playing in their third consecutive five-set match, the battered Bears had to fight through deficits and adversity to come away with this one. They squandered a 9-1 lead in set one and had their backs completely against the wall in set two when Merchant Marine got to set point and looked poised to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Trailing 24-23, senior captain Sam Ventimiglia (Key West, Fla.) came up clutch for her team with a kill. Then, with Julia Gallinger (Garrison, N.Y.) on the service line, back-to-back KP attack errors gave the Bears life and sent the match into set three tied at 1-1.

CGA took that momentum from set two and rode to finally get a somewhat comfortable victory at 25-17. Set three was the Alaina Corbin (Stafford, Va.) show. The sophomore pin attacker had six kills in the set, including three of the final five points. The fourth set went the Mariners way thanks to a spark from freshman pin attacker Candy Saz-Price (Cabot, Ark.), who did not appear in the first three sets and then delivered four kills and three aces in the fourth. The Bears fought back in the fourth but KP ultimately took the set 25-21.

The winner take all fifth set started off in tough fashion for the Bears, who got down both 5-1 and 10-5 in the race to 15. With the score at 10-5, the Bears senior captains put the team on their back. Abby Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) delivered five of the next seven CGA points to give the Bears a 12-11 lead. Senior libero Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.) gave a gutsy effort, diving all over the court and keeping rally after rally alive. (Schweitzer would finish the day with 12 kills, and Shire with 25 digs.) Merchant Marine did, however, tie the score at 13-13 after a Sydney Douglas (Herndon, Va.) kill. At 13-13, running on fumes in their 15th set in the last five days, the Bears did just enough to sing last and go home victors. After a service error brought the Bears to match point, a combined Corey Lemmer (San Francisco, Cal.) and Sam Ventimiglia block brought Alumni Gymnasium into a frenzy and clinched the team the win.

Lemmer and Ventimiglia were a fitting duo to deliver the final blow to KP. Corey Lemmer was the steady hand for the Bears on the attack with a team high and career high 18 kills. Ventimiglia meanwhile, was a machine at the net all night. Sam gave banner night with a career best four solo blocks and 10 total blocks. Those 10 blocks stamp her firmly atop the Coast Guard single match record book.

Setters Ava Ahokovi (Honololu, Hawaii) and Holly Davis (Sisters, Ore.) combined for 38 assists in the win. 

Coast Guard will get back at it on Friday September 11th vs their neighbor up the river Connecticut College with a home match at 6:00 pm est. Coast Guard's next chance to notch a point in the Superintendent's Trophy battle will also happen at home on Friday night when Women's Soccer takes on KP. The year long battle for the trophy can be followed HERE.