CSI's Pola Poskrobko posted seven kills for the Dolphins in the losing effort
The College of Staten Island women’s volleyball team fell in straight sets tonight, succumbing to visiting New Jersey City University, 3-0, in non-conference play at the Sports & Recreation Center. NJCU took the game by scores of 25-21, 25-16, and 25-18. The Dolphins fell to 0-1 on the season, while the Gothic Knights start their season at 1-0.
The Knights broke open a back-and-forth opening game with a strong final run. After JeanMarie Lewandowski served CSI to a modest 18-17 edge, NJCU rallied back. Brittany Erezuma serviced the Knights from there and got the Knights back on top, 22-18. CSI would score the next three points, but NJCU came right back and scored the final trio of points to lift themselves to a 25-21 win.
Games two and three were won a little more decisively by the visitors. The Knights worked big leads early in the sets, forcing CSI to utilize timeouts. In both sets, CSI made modest efforts to scratch their way back. In the third sat, CSI saw themselves down by 10, 21-11, before rallying a back. A pair of service aces, and kills by Erezuma tilted the game back NJCU’s way, giving the visitors the straight-set win to start the 2012 campaign.
CSI coach Atef Dosse was encouraged by the effort, but pointed to glaring errors that resulted in the loss. “We struggled with the first ball all night tonight,” he said. “We had a hard time getting comfortable and it being the first game, I think we were very nervous.”
Erezuma’s 10 kills led the Knights, while Marissa Scarpa added six kills and a team-high seven service aces and 9 digs. Cindy Garcia netted 15 assists in the win. Pola Poskroba shined for CSI, posting seven kills, adding six defensive digs, tied for the team lead. Jennifer Samuel posted 10 assists in the contest, adding three aces. NJCU posted 17 service aces as a team next to CSI’s 10.
CSI will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to St. Joseph’s College (Patchogue) for a non-conference contest at 7:00pm.
