2025-26 MARIAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
TOP 10 MOMENTS

HONORABLE MENTION
SOFTBALL WINS NACC TOURNAMENT OPENER

Marian University softball qualified for the NACC Tournament for the fourth straight season and earned its first postseason victory since 2024.

The Sabres found themselves as the No. 6 seed for the fourth straight NACC Tournament and were pitted against No. 7 Concordia Chicago.  The two sides had split their series during the regular season with Marian falling 8-0 in five innings in the opener before rallying for a 5-2 win in game two.  The Sabres wasted no time getting on the scoreboard plating four runs in the bottom of the first frame.  A double from Ariana Schliepp started the party bringing home three runs.  Schliepp then came home off of a single from Carissa Heisdorf.  The second inning had Marian build its lead to 5-0 when Mackenzie Christofferson drove in Mace Pease with a double.  A solo home run from Savanna Knuth followed in the third inning, her second of the season, to give Marian a 6-0 edge.  The Sabres were able to end the game early with two runs in the fifth capped off by a sacrifice fly from Pease.  

From the circle, Marian allowed just three hits as Sabrina Di Vito threw her second shutout of the season.  The Cougars put a runner in scoring position in only one inning and it came with two outs in the first.  After that, CUC only had two base runners for the remainder of the game.  The celebration was short-lived, however, as Marian was defeated by Benedictine later that day to fall one win shy of earning a spot in the double-elimination portion of the tournament.

Marian finished the season with a winning record for the third straight season and the 15 NACC wins is tied for the fifth-most in a single season in the NACC era.  The Sabres also reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th time in the NACC era.  The postseason awards saw three Sabres named All-NACC in Schliepp, Mackenzie Christofferson, and Erin Cowe.  Schliepp became the first First Team pick since 2023, while Christofferson was a Second Team honoree.  Cowe earned Honorable Mention recognition giving her three All-NACC selections in three seasons.  Along with those awards, three Sabres earned CSC Academic All-District recognition in Christofferson, Heisdorf, and Di Vito.