Friday, August 29
Buffalo, N.Y.
11:00 AM ET
Liberty University
1-0,0-0CUSA
3
vs
0
Marist
0-1,0-0MAAC
1
2
3
F
Marist
17
18
13
0
Liberty
25
25
25
3
Lady Flames Post 2 Sweeps on Opening Day
8/29/2025 9:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Liberty swept both Marist (25-17, 25-18, 25-13) and Buffalo (25-23, 25-20, 25-22) to open the 2025 season, Friday at Alumni Arena.
The Lady Flames (2-0) won both matches today, while Marist (0-2) lost to both Rutgers and Liberty. Buffalo's lone match at the Buffalo Invite today was tonight's loss to the Lady Flames.
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Liberty vs. Marist
The Lady Flames will take on Rutgers tomorrow at 6 p.m. to wrap up participation at the Buffalo Invite. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
The Lady Flames (2-0) won both matches today, while Marist (0-2) lost to both Rutgers and Liberty. Buffalo's lone match at the Buffalo Invite today was tonight's loss to the Lady Flames.
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Liberty vs. Marist
- Liberty opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of Marist. The Lady Flames hit .342, compared to -.012 to the Red Foxes, while Liberty also led in kills (33-23), aces (12-10), digs (34-28) and blocks.
- Jenna Otts recorded her first double-digit kill match as a Lady Flame, scoring a team-high 10 kills. Carly O'Brien (.375) and Zoe Hall (.667) followed with six kills each, while O'Brien served up three aces and collected seven digs. Alison Bierwagen recorded nine assists and three aces, while Laney Daniell totaled five blocks and Molly Littlefield collected seven digs.
- Mallory Reck scored a match-high 11 kills for Marist, while Caelyn Dumas registered 18 assists and three aces and Cecilia Potter-Pessoa recorded a match-high five aces.
- Today was the first-ever meeting between Liberty and Marist in volleyball. It was Liberty's first match against a MAAC opponent since sweeping Fairfield on Sept. 13, 2014.
- Liberty hit .571 (14-2-21) during set two, the first time the Lady Flames hit .500 or better in a single set since hitting .550 (13-2-20) during set five against UC San Diego, Sept. 7, 2024.
- Liberty's 12 aces were its most in a match since serving up 15 aces against ETSU, Sept. 13, 2024.
- Otts recorded her 19th career double-digit kill match and her first since scoring 17 kills for Gardner-Webb at Winthrop on Nov. 11, 2023.
- Zoe Hall, a graduate transfer from TCU, played in her first match in 1,000 days. Her last contest before today was Dec. 3, 2022, TCU's second-round loss at Wisconsin in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.Â
- The Lady Flames trailed set one, 22-20, before serving up a pair of aces in a set-clinching 5-1 rally.
- For the match, Liberty outhit Buffalo, .307-.183. The Lady Flames led in kills (43-42), while holding a 9-5 advantage in blocks. The Bulls led in both aces (5-3) and digs (41-34).
- Liberty's Paige Overcash hit .588 with a match-high-tying 11 kills, while Jenna Otts followed with nine kills. Laney Daniell posted five blocks for the second match in a row, while Alison Bierwagen dished out a team-high 18 assists and also led Liberty with seven digs. Charli Morris scored a career-high seven kills at a .375 pace.
- Sydney Bell (11) and Manoela Forlin (10) both reached double figures in kills for Buffalo, while Keira Kleidon collected a match-high 10 digs. Maddie Mitchel dished out a match-high 24 assists.
- Liberty hit .552 during set two of the match, connecting on 19 kills with three errors on 29 attack attempts.
- Today was the first meeting between Liberty and Buffalo in volleyball, and the Lady Flames' first win over a MAC team since beating Akron 3-1 on Aug. 31, 2024.Â
- Liberty has won four out of its last five season openers, with the lone season-opening loss in that stretch being last year, to Iowa.
- Jeremy White becomes the first Liberty volleyball head coach since Laura Miller (Sept. 4, 1998) to win in their first match at them. White is also the first Liberty volleyball head coach since Chris Phillips (1992) to win each of their first two matches as head coach.
- Bierwagen became the first Liberty freshman to start at setter in a season opener since Jade Craycraft against Cleveland State, Aug. 27, 2010.
- Daniell is the first Liberty freshman to start at middle blocker in a season opener since Madison Blane against Robert Morris, Sept. 3, 2021.
- Prior to today, the last time Liberty hit .300 or better in back-to-back matches was Nov. 6-13, 2022, when the Lady Flames hit .300+ in three straight contests.
- The last time Liberty opened a season with back-to-back sweeps was 2023, when the Lady Flames swept each of their first three opponents (Bucknell, Gardner-Webb, Stony Brook). Current Lady Flames Jenna Otts and Molly Littlefield both played for Gardner-Webb against Liberty during that stretch.Â
The Lady Flames will take on Rutgers tomorrow at 6 p.m. to wrap up participation at the Buffalo Invite. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Team Stats
Marist
Lib
Kills
23
33
Errors
24
8
Attempts
84
73
Hitting %
-.012
.342
Points
35.0
52.0
Assists
23
27
Aces
10
12
Blocks
2
7
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballLiberty Volleyball Splits Series With KSU
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