THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime volleyball team made its long awaited debut inside the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium on Thursday evening, and fell to the William Paterson Pioneers by the score of 3-1.
 
Maritime dropped their opening set by a 25-15 score, but rebounded in the second set with a thrilling 27-25 victory to even the match at one. The Pioneers took the third set by a 25-20 score before finishing off the match with a 25-14 victory.
 
Maritime was led by junior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point), who recorded a season-high 15 kills in the match. Sophomore Meredith Hayes (Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy) also had a season-high with 14 kills on the evening, while senior Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) added 11 kills on the match as the third Privateer in double-figures.
 
Senior Erika Bailey (Newark Valley, N.Y./Tioga Central) also had a season-high with 42 assists, and fell just three shy of her program record of 45, which she set a season ago. Lombardo and junior Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) led the Privateers with a pair of service aces, while Hayes and senior Rachel Rothstein (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) added one apiece.
 
Kempski led the defensive effort with a season-high 27 digs, which was seven shy of the single-match record of 34, set back during the 2004 season. Lombardo also had a season-high 20 digs, while Brady had 12 digs as well. Lombardo led Maritime with two blocks, while Hayes had one of her own.
 
Freshman Sheila Flaherty (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) had seven kills on the evening, while sophomore Isabella Kent (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) collected one kill to round out the scoring for the Privateers.
 
William Paterson built up a 9-2 lead in the opening set, then rattled off another six points to take an 18-6 advantage. The Privateers were only able to get as close as 24-15 before the Pioneers finished off the set on an attacking error by Maritime.
 
The Pioneers opened with a 5-2 lead in the second set but Maritime answered as Brady picked up a pair of kills and Flaherty added one to put the Privateers up by a 6-5 score. William Paterson tied the set at eight, but the Privateers answered with three-straight as Hayes and Bailey registered kills to push Maritime ahead by an 11-8 margin.
 
Maritime led by a 16-12 score, but four straight from the Pioneers knotted the set up once again. Maritime was pushed to the brink and were down by a 24-20 score before putting together one of its best comebacks of the season. Brady got things started with a kill, followed by a few errors from the Pioneers to even things at 24. William Paterson was the first two 25, but Maritime got another kill from Brady to tie it, followed by two more from Brady to give the Privateers the set victory.
 
The Privateers fell behind ahead by a 9-4 score in the third set, but Maritime chipped away and made the score 11-10. Maritime took a 16-15 lead, as the two sides rallied before William Paterson forged ahead for the 25-20 set win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Looking to force a fifth set, Maritime fell behind by a 7-1 margin in the early-going of the fourth set. Maritime attempted to come back and try to even the score but were never able to as William Paterson had answers for all of the Privateer rallies before closing out the set by a 25-14 margin.
 
Maritime (9-10, 2-2 Skyline) will be home again on Saturday, in their first home Skyline Conference tri-match of the season against Sarah Lawrence at 11:00 a.m., followed by Mount St. Vincent at 3 p.m.
 
William Paterson (10-7, 1-4 NJAC) will play a non-conference tri-match at home against John Jay and Cedar Crest from the Rec Center in Wayne, N.J.