For the second straight season, the Stony Brook women’s volleyball team snagged a playoff berth on the season’s final weekend.

Entering the weekend on a five-game skid, the Seawolves (16-12, 9-9 CAA) took care of business by sweeping the Campbell Fighting Camels (6-22, 4-14 CAA). Needing a successful weekend and help from Charleston, Stony Brook took Friday’s match 3-1 and made Saturday even easier with a 3-0 final score. 

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Charleston dispatched Northeastern in both ends of its weekend set to lock the Seawolves into the sixth seed in the upcoming 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Volleyball Championship. 

Friday’s opener was competitive from wire-to-wire. With the two sides knotted at 11, Stony Brook took a brief lead after a Camels error and a kill from outside hitter Kali Moore but quickly saw that lead evaporate. Outside hitter Leoni Kunz committed a service error before Campbell middle blocker Aley Clent served an ace to tie things at 15. 

A few points later, Campbell outside hitter Victoria Tupy committed a service error of her own before fellow outside hitter Gwen Wolkow had back-to-back attack errors to give the Seawolves a 20-17 lead. The advantage would be short lived, as the Camels responded with three unanswered points to even the score at 20. However, Stony Brook would deliver the final dagger, as Kunz came up with three consecutive kills as part of a 5-1 set-winning run. 

Campbell responded early in the second set, leading 20-16. Again, it was Kunz spearheading Stony Brook’s attack, as she posted a kill to spark a stretch of five unanswered points for the Seawolves. After a kill by Moore later on, they would reach match point, ahead 25-24 The Camels then went to work, as Wolkow came up with three kills in a row to cap off the comeback and tie the match with a 27-25 set victory.

Mimicking the previous two sets, the third was just as tight, tied at 13. After a service error by setter Rayanne Wheat gave Campbell a one-point lead, Moore and outside hitter Quinn Anderson killed back-to-back points, starting an 8-2 run. With Stony Brook ahead 21-16, Campbell right-side hitter Emily Campe bookended an error by Wolkow with two kills before Kunz and middle blocker Abby Campbell delivered kills to initiate set point. Trying to keep the set alive for the Camels, Campe had her shot denied at the net and knocked out of bounds to seal a 25-18 win for Stony Brook.

Looking to wrap up Friday’s match in the fourth set, the Seawolves went up 7-4 but quickly had that lead erased as Campbell went on a 9-2 run helped by a trio of service aces by libero Riley Dean. Behind 19-13, Stony Brook responded with two separate 4-0 runs in an 11-point span as defensive specialist Madison Cigna served a pair of aces. After the Camels notched a tally on a Wolkow kill, the Seawolves scored another four unanswered on the back of kills by Moore, Kunz, Campbell and an ace by Wheat. Up 21-17, Stony Brook cruised to the finish line as Campbell and Moore each added another kill, with an error by Wolkow wrapping up both the match and the set in a 25-20 final. 

“I’m really proud of our defensive effort tonight,” head coach Kristin Belzung said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “I thought we did a good job of working through a Campbell lineup we weren’t expecting. In addition, we played clean offensively. We got more aggressive as the match went on and it paid off.”

Following a similar trajectory as Friday, the teams found themselves tied at 19 in the first set on Saturday. Wolkow and Tupy then had consecutive errors to give Stony Brook a 21-19 advantage before setter Torri Henry served an ace. Moore followed with a kill before Campe committed an error to cap off a 5-0 run. The Camels put together a brief 3-0 rally, but the comeback proved to be too little, too late, as another error by Campe sealed the first set. 

The Seawolves trailed for much of the second set, falling behind 20-14 after kills by Campe and Tupy surrounded a miscue by Anderson. Down by six, Stony Brook started its comeback with kills by Campbell and middle blocker Ayanna Pierre Louis before Campbell middle blocker Maggie Salisbury brought the Seawolves within three. After the Camels extended their lead to four on a kill by Wolkow, Pierre Louis and Kunz started a 7-1 Stony Brook run. Moore delivered the equalizer with a kill to tie the set at 24, and then gave her side the lead with another kill on the ensuing point. Campbell came up with the clincher to give her team a commanding 2-0 match lead after a 26-24 victory.

The weekend’s final set was much easier for the Seawolves as two kills and two aces from Kunz helped them out to an 8-2 lead. After Campbell tried to sneak back into the game following a 9-4 run, Stony Brook struck back with a 4-0 spurt fueled by two aces by Cigna. From there, the Seawolves skated to victory as Campe committed yet another error to hand them the victory.

Stony Brook’s offense played a much cleaner brand of volleyball than the last two weekends, posting a .229 hitting percentage that nearly doubled the Camels’ .143 clip. Moore led the team with 38 total kills, including a 24-kill effort on Friday. Kunz had 19 kills while Campbell had 14. Anderson chipped in 12 kills across the two games.

Henry was the leading facilitator, assisting 76 points. 

Libero Julia Patsos was a stalwart in the middle of the court, putting up 27 digs this weekend. Cigna did not trail by very much as she posted 25 while Henry had 24. In addition to their offensive heroics, Kunz and Moore contributed 20 and 18 digs, respectively.  

Pierre Louis led in the blocking department, with 4.5 total blocks. Kunz and Campbell tied behind her, each having 2.5 total blocks. 

The serving game was strong for the Seawolves. Cigna led with four aces while Henry and Pierre Louis both had three. Moore and Wheat were both responsible for two aces apiece.

Stony Brook will await results from around the CAA as they will take on the third-seeded team in the upcoming playoffs which will take place at Towson University — last year’s regular season champion. Towson, Hofstra and Delaware are all in contention for that spot as Charleston has already locked up the top spot. The first set of the Seawolves’ first playoff matchup is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Thursday.