The College of Staten Island women’s volleyball team fell on the final day of the regular season in consecutive matches played at Manhattanville College on Saturday,  FIrst, the Dolphins fell 3-1 to New Jersey City University, then suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Manhattanville.  CSI finished the season with a record of 7-19 and on a five game skid.

The opening contest was as tight as they come, as NJCU won by scores of 27-25, 27-25, 25-27, and 25-19.  In the opening game, the Dolphins led most of the way, at one point up 15-9 on a kill by Sandy Mila, and then extending to 19-11 after a Caitlin Esposito ace.  But the Knights responded with a 10-1 run to take their first lead at 21-20.  CSI then grabbed the lead later 25-24 on another Mila kill, but NJCU would respond with two kills coupled with an error to win 27-25.

 CSI again got up early in the second set 4-0, but the Knights responded with a 6-0 run of their own to prompt the lead, never looking back.  At one point the Knights went up 20-14, but CSI battled back and thanks to a kill and ace by Siobhan Granich, and then another ace by Victoria Wong, they got the game tied, 24-24.  Two Dolphins errors at the end, however, would give another match to NJCU, 27-25.

CSI was on the right side of the same score in the third set.  There were five lead changes in the match.  The most crucial was when CSI came from 20-16 down to record a 24-22 lead thanks to two Granich kills and another Esposito ace.  NJCU went back up 25-24, but another two Granich kills and an Esposito ace gave CSI the win.

The Dolphins could not sustain the mementum, however, in the fourth match.  They took a 6-2 lead, but NJCU responded with a 7-2 run to take the lead.  Later, a 7-2 Knights run made it 22-16 and the Knights did not look back from there, winning 25-19.

CSI was led by Granich’s 14 kills, followed by Mila’s eight.  Vanessa Reyes added three aces, while Wong tallied 22 digs.

In the second match, Manhattanville slid by the Dolphins, 25-15, 25-7, and 25-13.  The Valiants would out-kill the Dolphins in the match 39-12, as CSI mustered a -.047 attack percentage.  Aces were also a factor, as the Valiants led in that department, 12-0.

Kerry Mackey led Mville with 13 kills with Megan Quinabo scoring six aces and Samantha Milano 13 digs.  Wong would post 17 digs for CSI, who were led by Mila’s four kills.