SIOUX CITY, Iowa — After arriving at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site with a 35-1 record, the Mariners of Coastal Georgia closed out pool play Thursday without winning a match.
Madonna (Mich.) handed the Mariners their third-straight loss at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, by a 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-10) margin. Coastal Georgia also fell to Biola (Calif.), 3-0, and Viterbo (Wis.), 3-1, in its first-ever appearance at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship presented by J&L Enterprises.
The SSAC regular-season and tournament champion Mariners defeated Embry-Riddle (Fla.), 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18) on Nov. 22 in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round to advance to the national championship final site.
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament runner-up Madonna, which is making its 14th national championship appearance, outgunned the Mariners in the final pool play match, notching double-digit kills in each set en route to a straight-sets sweep.
In the three-set match, Madonna tallied 37 kills, while hitting .438. Coastal Georgia hit .021 for the match and accumulated just 21 kills.
Allie Shannon led the Mariners with four kills, while Casey Gates recorded a match-high 10 kills to lead the Crusaders.
Having lost to Biola and Viterbo in prior pool play matches, both Coastal Georgia and Madonna were eliminated from national championship contention despite Thursday's result.
The Mariners conclude their season 35-4 and now own a 1-3 record in national championship action.
