St. Petersburg, Fla. – The Maryville volleyball team earned a split of its season-opening matches at the Eckerd College Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Saints were edged out in five sets versus Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 25-17, 17-25, 25-23, 21-25, 10-15 before bouncing back to beat Bemidji State 25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14.
 
Puerto Rico-Mayaguez recap
In the 2025 season opener, Ella Brinkmann posted a double-double on 19 kills and 25 digs but UPRM took the decisive fifth set. Maryville won sets one and three but UPRM bounced back to even the match each time. Ellie Witthaus had a kill for a 2-2 tie but UPRM scored three straight points and eventually took an 8-4 lead. The Saints scored a point to end the run. Witthaus keyed a 3-0 spree with kills around a service ace by Taylor Reynolds to pull to within 11-9. UPRM responded with three consecutive points until Ella Domian put down a ball. However, UPRM scored the next point to close out the contest. Olivia Klump put up a career-high 32 digs, while freshman Witthaus finished with 29 digs to go along with eight kills.
 
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Ella Brinkmann - 19
Hitting Percentage: Emma Hoing - .269
Assists: Taylor Reynolds - 21
Service Aces: Ella Brinkmann, Taylor Reynolds and Lynsey Batson - 1
Digs: Olivia Klump - 32
Blocks: Ella Brinkmann and Leslie Longanbach - 3
 
Records
Maryville: 0-1
Puerto Rico-Mayaguez: 1-0
 
Bemidji State recap
The Saints opened the match with a .344 hitting percentage in set one to grab the opener. After Bemidji evened the contest by winning the second set, the Saints responded with two straight set wins. In the third set, both teams used a pair of 3-0 runs in a close set. Up 18-17, the Saints scored three straight kills by Payton Mandac, Hailey Levinson and Domian for a 21-17 margin. BSU inched back to within 21-19 until the Saints ended the set with four straight points. After two straight BSU errors, Witthaus served back-to-back aces to close out the match. Brinkmann recorded another double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Domian and Hoing both chipped in nine kills apiece.
 
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Ella Brinkmann - 12
Hitting Percentage: Ella Domian - .538
Assists: Taylor Reynolds - 18
Service Aces: Ellie Witthaus - 6
Digs: Olivia Klump - 16
Blocks: Leslie Longanbach - 5
 
Records
Maryville: 1-1
Bemidji State: 0-2
 
What's Next?
The Saints close out their stay in Florida with an 8:30 am CT match against Ohio Dominican and finish up against host Eckerd College at 1:30 p.m. CT.