THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime volleyball team played host to its first tri-match of the 2016 season as the Privateers welcomed in the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons and the Mount St. Vincent Dolphins to Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
In their opening match of the afternoon, the Privateers swept through the Gryphons by the scores of 25-18, 25-12, and 25-20. After being off in the middle match, Maritime regrouped looking to sweep the day and battled the defending Skyline Champions, but fell by the scores of 20-25, 20-25 and 21-25 as the team settled for the split. In the middle match of the afternoon, Mount St. Vincent swept Sarah Lawrence in straight sets.
 
Maritime was led by sophomore Meredith Hayes (Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy), who recorded 20 kills and eight service aces to lead the team. Freshman Sheila Flaherty (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) was second on the team with 17 kills as she led the team in hitting percentage at .429. Junior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) added 14 kills, while senior Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) had 10 kills and five service aces.
 
Senior Erika Bailey (Newark Valley, N.Y./Tioga Central) dished out 52 assists on the day, while Lombardo added six helpers. Junior Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) had a pair of assists, while Brady added one for the Privateers.
 
Defensively, Lombardo led the Privateers with 25 digs, followed by Kempski with 22, Brady with 20, and Bailey with 14. Blocks were also spread evenly as Hayes, Flaherty and Lombardo were all credited with three blocks each, while Brady had two, and Bailey had one.
 
In the opener, the Privateers took on the Gryphons for the second time this season, looking to pick up another win against Sarah Lawrence with this one counting for a conference win. After falling behind by an early 7-2 score, Maritime inched closer with three straight points before dropping the next four points to fall behind 11-5.
 
Maritime scored six of the next seven points, as Flaherty had three kills in the series to help pull the Privateers back within one at 12-11. Hayes and Lombardo pushed the team over the Gryphons with back-to-back kills to even things up at 13. Maritime and Sarah Lawrence exchanged the lead back and forth, until the set was tied at 18.
 
The Privateers rolled out seven unanswered points to clinch the opening set as Brady and Flaherty picked up two kills apiece, while Lombardo finished off the set with back-to-back service aces.
 
After a sluggish start in the second set, Maritime found its groove and picked up seven-straight points to take a 10-4 lead. The Privateers continued to roll and found themselves ahead by a 19-12 score. Maritime finished things off with six consecutive points including four service aces from Hayes.
 
In the third set Maritime jumped ahead to an 8-4 lead, but Sarah Lawrence tied the set at eight. A service error by the Gryphons gave possession back to the Privateers, who surged ahead with nine of the next 12 points to take a 17-11 advantage. The latter stages went back and forth in the set, but eventually Maritime was able to seal the victory with 25-20 set win.
 
Hayes led Maritime with 12 kills and six aces against Sarah Lawrence, while Bailey had 31 assists. Lombardo led the Privateers with 14 digs, while Brady chipped in with 11.
 
In their second match of the day, the Privateers took on the 2015 league champion Dolphins, and pushed Mount St. Vincent to the brink in each of the three sets. However, Maritime was unable to clear the hurdle and fell by the scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-21.
 
The opening set saw Maritime take an early 11-9 lead, but the stingy Dolphins refused to go down and moved ahead by a 21-13 score with a 12-2 run. Maritime clawed its way back to make it 21-16, but Mount St. Vincent had just enough left to finish off the set at 25-20.
 
The Privateers held another early lead in the second set with a 5-3 advantage, but the Dolphins had an answer and moved ahead 9-7. Maritime was able to get back within four at 23-19 after a Mount St. Vincent offensive outburst, but it was not enough as the Dolphins took the set by a 25-20 score once again.
 
In the third set, Mount St. Vincent opened with four points, before Maritime picked up three points with sophomore Isabella Kent (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) serving. The Privateers trailed again at 12-9 before regaining service on a Brady kill. Kent continued her strong service game in the third set as Maritime scored the next four points to regain the lead at 14-12.

The two sides battled one another as the match was tied at 17, 18, and 19 points before Mount St. Vincent scored three in a row to take a 22-19 lead. Maritime trimmed the deficit to two at 23-21, but it was not enough as the Dolphins tacked on the final two points to seal the set victory.
 
In the match against the Dolphins, Maritime was led by Flaherty and Hayes with eight kills apiece. Lombardo, Hayes, and Kempski each had a pair of service aces, while Bailey chipped in with 21 assists. Kempski also led the Privateers with 16 digs, while Bailey and Lombardo each had 11 on the match.
 
Maritime (10-11, 3-3 Skyline) will not play again until next Sunday, October 16, when the team travels to Mount St. Mary for a tri-match with the host Knights and the St. Joseph's (LI) Golden Eagles. First serve is at 11:00 a.m. vs. Mount St. Mary, with the contest against St. Joseph's (LI) is immediately after.
 
Sarah Lawrence (11-6, 3-3 Skyline) will be back home tomorrow afternoon for a 12 p.m. start against Old Westbury from the Campbell Sports Center in Bronxville, N.Y. Mount St. Vincent (8-10, 4-0 Skyline) will also take on Old Westbury tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. in Bronxville, for their lone match on Sunday.