The College of Staten Island women’s volleyball squad powered to a 3-0 wins on the road against SUNY-Old Westbury in non-conference play this evening. CSI took the individual games, 25-6, 25-11, and 25-20. The win broke up a season-long three game slump for the Dolphins, lifting the squad to 6-6, while the Panthers fell to a season-opening 0-8 start.
It was all Dolphins in the opener, as the squad used four Brittany Minondo service aces to take a 7-0 lead before Old Westbury could respond. Later, a pair of aces by Pola Poskrobko and a pair of kills by Jonaldy Edouard were enough to open up a 21-4 lead that CSI eventually turned into a 25-6 win; it’s most lop-sided win of the year.
In the second frame, CSI stayed hot, rolling to a 7-2 early edge, guided by a pair of Siobhan Granich kills. Jessica Cafiero powered in a few aces later when the score was a tight, 11-7, to help spark a 6-0 run that gave CSI a more comfortable, 17-8, cushion. Two aces by Selma Kolenovic then helped CSI score 9 of the final 10 points of the match to give CSI a 25-11 win.
Old Westbury saved their best game for last, but even then, CSI weathered the storm. The Dolphins led the whole way opening up a 4-0 lead and later lifted to a 20-10 lead before the Panthers started a great comeback. OW started an 11-2 run with a CSI error and used two Ruth Vargas kills to close to 22-20, before CSI called for timeout. That stoppage was key for the Dolphins. With Vanessa Reyes serving, OW committed three straight errors, two on attacks and one on a bad set to give CSI the 25-20 win, and an overall match win in straight sets.
CSI was led by Poskrobko and Edouard’s six kills apiece, while Minondo and Poskrobko led with four aces each. Defensively, Kolenovic was the leader with five digs. OW sported a -098 attack percentage in the loss, and was led by Vargas’ five kills.
The Dolphins will now be idle until Thursday, October 9, when they host William Paterson University at the Sports & Recreation Center at 7:00pm.
