BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The Maritime Volleyball Team opened up the 2016 Maritime Classic and Skyline Conference play on Saturday evening as the Privateers battled the Merchant Marine Mariners from the Clean Harbors Center.
 
The Mariners swept past the Privateers in three sets by the scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 25-18.
 
Freshman Sheila Flaherty (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) led Maritime with seven kills, while sophomore Meredith Hayes (Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy) was second on the team with six kills. Junior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) had four, while senior Carly Lombardo (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) had three kills.
 
Junior Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) led the Privateers with two service aces, while Hayes, Lombardo, and sophomore Isabella Kent (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) each had one. Senior Erika Bailey (Newark Valley, N.Y./Tioga Central) had a match-high 15 assists on the evening as well.
 
Lombardo led Maritime with 12 digs, while Brady was right behind with 11. Kempski chipped in with nine digs, and Bailey added seven on the match. Lombardo also held the team lead in blocks with three on the evening.
 
Maritime fell behind early in the first set by a 12-5 score but called a timeout and answered right back. Hayes collected three kills as the Privateers trimmed the deficit to 12-10. Merchant Marine scored eight of the next 10 points and cruised to the 25-19 win.
 
In the second set the Privateers opened with a 3-1 lead, and after it was 4-2 Privateers, Merchant Marine scored the next seven points. Flaherty got a kill that sparked four-straight for the Privateers, but the Mariners responded with five unanswered.
 
The teams continued to battle, as Maritime clawed its way back into the set and trimmed the deficit to one at 23-22, but Merchant Marine was able to take a two-set to one lead, with a 25-22 score in the second set.
 
Merchant Marine jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in the third set, but Maritime took advantage of three-straight Mariner errors to trim it to 8-6. The Mariners went on an 11-3 run to take a 19-9 lead, and eventually closed out the set by a 25-17 score in the third to pick up the victory.
 
Maritime (4-4, 0-1 Skyline) will get right back to action on Sunday morning with a battle against the Maine Maritime Mariners at 9:30 a.m., later in the day, the Privateers will battle host Mass. Maritime at approximately 3:00 p.m.
 
Merchant Marine (2-2, 1-0 Skyline) will play Mass. Maritime at 11:30 a.m., followed by a matchup against Maine Maritime at 1:30 p.m. to close out its weekend in Buzzards Bay.