Volleyball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Amber Ives and Sarah Niazi Lead Merritt Island to Victory

Merritt Island waltzed into their match on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Astronaut War Eagles 3-0. That result was just more of the same for these two, as the Mustangs also won the last time the pair played back in September of 2023.

Merritt Island never let Astronaut on the board, but things got pretty close in the third set. The final score came out to 25-14, 25-21, 25-23.

Amber Ives

Attacks Kills (Career)

08/26/25 vs Astronaut	2
08/18/25 @ Titusville	1
10/02/24 vs Satellite	1
08/20/24 vs Merritt Island Christian	1

Leading Merritt Island to victory were Sarah Niazi and Amber Ives. Niazi had 19 digs and two assists, while Ives had five digs and four aces. The dominant performance also gave Ives a new career-high in kills (two).

They weren't the only good server: Merritt Island was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 13 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least ten aces every time they've taken the court this season.

Merritt Island's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Astronaut, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.

Coming up, Merritt Island will be taking part in a tournament against Timber Creek at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. As for Astronaut, they will face off against Bullard at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday.