Women's Volleyball

John Jay Drops NCAA First Round Match To No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan

Release courtesy John Jay Athletic Communications

Virginia Beach, VA - The John Jay women's volleyball team's 2025 season came to a close on Thursday night with a three-set defeat at No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

John Jay fell 25-15, 25-14, 25-16, ending the season with a final record of 23-7.

Emilia Cascapera led the way with eight kills. CUNYAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, Jadyn Orava, finished with six kills and a team-leading eight digs.

CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Madison Mullan finished with four kills, three digs, and two aces. CUNYAC First Team honoree Adrienne Xiao had 18 assists, one ace, and two digs, while Second Team recipient Lizbeth Martinez concluded the match with seven digs.

Brianna Clay led the Marlins with nine kills. Skylar Rivers had 11 digs while Niya Nash registered 26 assists and five digs.

The Bloodhounds trailed 3-0 before rattling back-to-back points. A kill from Orava closed the deficit to 4-3 before Virginia Wesleyan staged a 14-4 run to go up 18-7. The Marlins doubled up the score following a kill from Kathryn Liles. The Bloodhounds did close out the set, scoring 4 of the final 6 points, but a kill from Clay gave Virginia Wesleyan the 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, the Marlins went ahead 6-2 before Mullan notched the kill to stop the VWU run. Mullan halted a potential run by the home team. In the later stages of the second set, the Marlins used a 13-7 run to run the score to 23-11. Mullan added an ace for John Jay's 13th point of the set, but back-to-back kills from Smith and Nash ended the set in favor of the home team.

John Jay took a 3-2 lead as Alex Overkamp recorded a kill early in the set to cap a mini 3-0 run burst by the Bloodhounds. The Bloodhounds kept pace, as Xiao recorded an ace to tie the set at 6-6. Four straight mishits by John Jay gave Virginia Wesleyan a 12-8 lead. The Bloodhounds kept fighting back as Cascapera recorded a kill, but two consecutive kills from Clay sealed the match for the Marlins. 
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