In what was the first match the College of Staten Island women’s volleyball has played on their main gymnasium floor, the Dolphins would suffer a pair of 3-0 defeats at the hands of Brooklyn College and William Paterson University as part of a non-conference tri-match at the Sports & Recreation Center. In the opening match, BC extended to 7-4 overall with a 25-10, 25-12, 25-23 win over CSI, who fell to 2-7. After William Paterson defeated Brooklyn in the game’s second match, 3-0, CSI then fell to WPU by the same score by set scores of 25-9, 25-11, and 25-13. The Pioneers extended to 7-5 with the pair of wins while CSI fell to 2-8.
In the opener, BC got out to a quick, 5-0, lead before a CSI response. A kill by Margaret O’Mallet Rebovich and a service ace by Vanessa Reyes got CSI close at 9-6, but then BC reeled of a 14-3 run, fueled by three Michaela Appel kills, en route to a 25-10 opening set win.
CSI again fell behind by a bunch in the second set, this time 17-4, as Sarina Rozek posted six kills on her own in the run. Two service aces by Caitlin Esposito helped CSI get involved but two more Rozek kills down the stretch ended the comeback at 25-12. In the last set, CSI was at their most competitive. The Dolphins would take a 4-2 early lead on an O’Malley-Rebovich kill, and later, kills by Alexandria Boachie-Ansah and Taresa Maresca gave CSI a 14-12 lead.
Late in the set the score was knotted at 19-19, when CSI took a lead with a Brooklyn error. later CSI was up 22-20, but BC finished on a 5-1 run to end the threat helped again by two Rozek kills, including the clincher.
Rozek led all with 18 kills on 27 attacks. Kate Meltsin added 16 assists and a team-best six aces. For CSI, they were led by O’Malley-Rebovich;s five kills, with Jessica Cafiero adding 14 assists. Cassidy Iannariello added 9 digs to lead the way in that department.
CSI could not muster up much offense in their second match as well, as William Paterson frustrated the Dolphins with their relentless attack. The visitors took a 7-1 lead to start the first set, thanks in large part to two kills by Christine Griffith. A Dakota Apicella kill gave WPU a double-digit lead that it would pad in a 25-9 win.
The Dolphins got out to a quick, 2-0, jump, in the second set, but then later an 8-0 run by the Pioneers put them up 11-4. A kill by Ashley Notaro sprang life into the Dolphins but WPU caught fire again and ignited an 8-2 run that gave them a 25-11 win. Two more Griffith kills got WPU started on a 9-1 lead in the third set. CSI would fight back with a 6-2 run of their own thanks to two O’Malley-Rebovich kills and a Kathryn Adams ace but a 9-3 WPU run followed and the Pioneers were able to close out the Dolphins in the final frame, 25-13.
Griffith finished with 14 kills for WPU while Alyson Toman had 9. Kendall Caruso finished with 31 assists while Amanda Lembo led all with 14 digs. For CSI, they were paced by four kills each from Reyes, O’Malley-Rebovich and Esposito, while Iannariello led all scorers with 20 defensive digs.
CSI will now be idle until Tuesday, when they reconvene on their CUNYAC schedule, hosting York College at 7pm at the Sports & Recreation Center.
