THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime volleyball team finished up the 2016 season with a pair of victories over Skyline Conference opponents St. Joseph's (Bklyn) by a 3-1 score, and followed that up with a 3-0 win over the Old Westbury Panthers.
 
On the day, freshman Sheila Flaherty (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) led the team with 21 kills, while both senior Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and junior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) had 20 kills on the afternoon. Junior Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) had 17 kills. Senior Erika Bailey (Newark Valley, N.Y./Tioga Central), and sophomores Meredith Hayes (Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy), Colleen Ireland (Hyde Park, N.Y./Mount Olive (N.J.)) and Isabella Kent (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) each had kills on the afternoon as well.
 
Bailey led Maritime with 66 assists on the afternoon, while Lombardo was second on the team with seven. Bailey held the team lead in service aces with seven, while Lombardo and Kempski each had six. Hayes, Flaherty, and sophomore Catherine Pfundstein (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) also had service aces on the day.
 
Lombardo led Maritime's defensive effort with 28 digs, while Brady was second on the team with 17. Bailey had 15 digs, and Kempski added 14 in seven sets on the day. Senior Alyssa Esposito (Farmingdale, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) chipped in with eight digs, and classmate Irene Gogos (Jackson Heights, N.Y./Aviation) had six of her own, both Pfundstein and senior Rachel Rothstein (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) both chipped in with three digs apiece.
 
Lombardo finishes her career second on the all-time kills list with 809, while ending her career as the all-time leader in attacking attempts with 2,299, service aces with 206 and is also third all-time with 507 assists. She also finishes as the all-time leader with 766 digs and third on the all-time blocks list with 85, while playing in more sets than any other Privateer with 292 sets played in three seasons.
 
Bailey's assist total gives her 1,366 career helpers at Maritime, which is more than twice the previous record. Bailey also ends her Privateer career with 98 service aces, which is sixth all-time. She finished her two-year stint at Maritime with 327 digs, which places her ninth on the all-time list.  
 
Esposito finishes her career just outside the top-10 in service aces as she recorded 71 in her 88 career matches played. She also contributed with 206 digs for her career, while also adding five kills and 11 assists.
 
Gogos tallied 86 digs in 55 career matches, while also picking up five kills, six assists, and 10 service aces for her career.
 
Maritime opened the day splitting the first two sets against the Bears of St. Joseph's (Bklyn) but trailed in the third set by a 16-8 score. The Privateers rallied to score the next six points as Lombardo and Brady picked up kills in the series. Maritime tied the set at 20, and eventually overtook the Bears to clinch the set 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead on the match.
 
The Privateers used its momentum in the third set to take a 6-0 lead as Bailey collected three service aces to propel the Privateers to an early lead. Maritime used another seven-point rally has Flaherty had two kills, while Kempski and Lombardo also had kills to push Maritime ahead by a 16-3 score.
 
Maritime cruised to the finish to take the fourth set by a 25-10 score and seal the victory against St. Joseph's (Bklyn).
 
After the second match of the day, which saw the Bears sweep Old Westbury, Maritime squared off with the Panthers looking to close out the season with a victory.
 
Maritime handled the Panthers with ease in the opening set and built up a 10-1 advantage. The lead swelled to 19-3, before the Privateers closed out the set at 25-5.
 
The Privateers needed to go the distance against the Panthers in the second set, after falling behind early. A seven-point push made the score 19-16 in favor of the Panthers as Maritime continued to fight from behind. After tying the set at 22, Maritime yielded the next point before Kempski picked up a service ace and Lombardo added a kill to register the set victory.
 
In the third set, Maritime put their game back in gear and jumped ahead by a 10-3 lead en route to a 25-8 set victory to record its second win of the day.
 
Maritime finishes its season with a 14-14 overall record, with a 6-5 mark in Skyline Conference contests. The Privateers will look ahead to the 2017 season, as the team will attempt to qualify for Skyline postseason play for the third time in four seasons.
 
St. Joseph's (Bklyn) wraps up its season at 12-12 with a 3-8 record in Skyline matches, while Old Westbury finishes its season with a 4-21 record with a 2-9 mark in league contests.