Box Score

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime volleyball team swept the Old Westbury Panthers on Thursday evening in straight sets inside the Riesenberg Hall Gym as the Privateers punched their first ticket to the Skyline Conference Tournament in program history.
 
In the match, Maritime handled Old Westbury by the scores of 25-7, 25-7, 25-6 for the straight sets triumph.
 
Due to other matches still to take place in Skyline Conference play, Maritime will not find out who it will play in the playoffs until Saturday evening. However, the match will be on the road on Wednesday, November 5th at a place and time still to be determined.
 
Leading the team was freshman Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) with 16 kills on the match, in addition to a team-high four digs, with a team-best seven service aces. Senior Christine McCormack (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) had a strong match with 19 assists and also had seven service aces, which included a long stretch of serves in both the first and third sets. For McCormack, her 490 assists is second all-time as she continues to make her way towards the all-time record of 503 set back in 2011.
 
Senior Sydney Carella (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) also had four digs on the night, while sophomore Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) contributed with eight kills also had 10 assists on the evening. Freshman Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) collected four kills and had six service aces to end the night.
 
In the first set, Maritime opened up on a 7-0 roll as Kempski and Lombardo both collected multiple kills, junior Colleen Sheehy (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) also got credit for a kill during the stretch. After a quick two points by Old Westbury, the Privateers steamrolled their way to a 25-7 win as the set ended with a strong run of four service aces by Brady.
 
The second set saw the Privateers start out with a 3-2 advantage, and once again the team put together a long stretch as Carella was serving and saw Maritime rattle off seven unanswered points to take a 10-2 lead. Old Westbury picked up a few points to make the score 15-6, but the Privateers behind a pair of kills and a block from Lombardo finished off the set by a 25-7 score.
 
Moving to the third set, McCormack was back to serve for the Privateers and collected four service aces in a stretch that saw the Privateers open up a 10-0 lead. Old Westbury got one point back, but a kill by Kempski gave Maritime the ball back. Kempski was up next to serve and picked up four consecutive and five overall service aces on the next Maritime series to put the Privateers up 19-1.
 
After a brief back-and-forth rally for Maritime, Brady was up to serve for match point up by a score of 24-6. The final point came from Kempski after taking a pass from McCormack as the Privateers picked up the historic win.
 
Maritime (11-13, 4-5 Skyline) wrapped up league play with its win tonight, and will host a tri-match this Saturday as part of senior day at Riesenberg Hall. The Privateers begin the day with a match against Brooklyn at 11 a.m., followed by a match with the King's (Pa.) Monarchs at 3 p.m. Senior Day Festivities will commence prior to the 11 a.m. match.
 
Old Westbury (2-18, 2-5 Skyline) will also play on Saturday, as the team wraps up its 2014 season with a tri-match against both Mount St. Mary and Mount St. Vincent.