The College of Staten Island women’s volleyball team hosted their final tri-match of the season this afternoon at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center. The Dolphins opened up the tri-match against New Jersey City University at 12:00 pm and fell in three straight sets. Staten Island would go on to close out the day with a 3-0 win over Medgar Evers College to improve to 7-14 overall.
Match 1: New Jersey City University 3, Staten Island 0 (23-25, 15-25, 19-25)
The Dolphins and Gothic Knights met for the eighth time in their history with the Gothic Knights holding a 6-2 edge. CSI has struggled against NJAC opponents this season, going 0-3 against those teams.
The first set was a hard fought battle that saw a number of lead switches throughout the set. After holding a 15-14 lead thanks to kills by Siobhan Granich and Skenderjie Mila, the Gothic Knights would go on a 5-0 to take a 19-15 lead over the Dolphins. Staten Island rallied back to tie the opening set up a 20-20. The end of the match had the fans on the edge of their seats as both teams continued to put on a clinic in defending as neither team wanted fall behind this late in the set. In the end, it was the Gothic Knights who came out on top with a 25-23 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Having one game under their belt the Dolphins jumped out to a 3-1 lead on their home court over the Gothic Knights. The score once again went back and forth until New Jersey City University was able to take the lead. With the Gothic Knights up 15-12, the Dolphins were unable to find a foothold in the set to start a comeback. Down the stretch the Dolphins struggled with the Gothic Knights serves as five of the points scored over their 9-0 at the end came off of service aces. CSI would fall 25-15 in the second set and fall behind 0-2 in the match.
The woe’s continued for Staten Island in the third set as the Gothic Knight’s continued to serve well and opened the third set with two straight aces. CSI was able to stay in this set and force the Gothic Knights to play at the top of their game to pick up a win. The Gothic Knights would go on to win the match in three straight sets to move to 12-12 on the year.
Vanessa Reyes (.214) and Granich (.042) led the offense for the Dolphins with six kills each. Victoria Wong secured 10 digs from the back line while Jessica Cafiero tallied 17 assists.
Match 2: Staten Island 3, Medgar Evers 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-14)
In the final match of the afternoon, the Dolphins stepped on the court against a familiar foe in Medgar Evers College. The Dolphins had already taken down the Cougars in straight sets earlier in the year in a CUNYAC match. Staten Island would finish the game against Medgar Evers much like they did in their meeting earlier in the year, in three straight sets.
The Cougars were much improved from their meeting earlier in the year. The Cougars hung around with the Dolphins and were able to knot it up 10-10 mid way through the set. CSI would rip off a 10-1 run to end the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Wong was able to collect two aces over that stretch to help aid the Dolphins in their win over the Cougars.
Once again the Cougars stayed in the set. Cassidy Iannariello was able to give CSI a 12-6 with her tricky serves. Caitlin Esposito also tallied a pair of kills over that stretch. Trailing 17-11 the Cougars served up three service aces to climb back into the set and trail just 17-18. Granich and the Dolphins would not allow the Cougars to come back into the set and would go on a 7-1 run to win the second set 25-18.
In the third set the Cougar had seemed to find their form. The Cougars would jump out to a 9-4 lead over the Dolphins. CSI would send in their ace, Iannariello to help the Dolphins gain control of the game. Iannariello would serve seven straight times with three of them ending with kills by Reyes and Granich. With the Dolphins in control of the set, they were able to play to their style which would allow them to cruise to a 25-14 win in the final set of the afternoon.
Granich (.348) led the way with 11 kills on 23 total attacks while Cafiero collected 20 assists. Wong led the team in two categories, digs (16) and aces (5).
CSI will return to action on Tuesday, October 25 for their senior night against Baruch College at 7:00 PM at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center.
