WAYNE, N.J. – The Maritime volleyball team played in its third tri-match of the 2017 season, and for the second time this year the Privateers split their results. Maritime defeated the York Cardinals, before falling to the host William Paterson Pioneers on Saturday afternoon at the REC Center.
 
Maritime won in straight sets against the Cardinals by the scores of 25-21, 25-11, 25-19 in the opener, before falling in three to the Pioneers by the scores of 19-25, 15-25, and 16-25.
 
Senior Shannon Brady (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) led the offensive attack for the Privateers with 21 kills, while classmate Gabrielle Kempski (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) was second on the team with 16 kills overall between the two matches. Junior Meredith Hayes (Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy) had a dozen kills, while rookie Abby Steele (Crossville, Tenn./Stone Memorial) added 11 kills. Freshman Erika Kirchner (Meadowmere Park, N.Y./Lawrence) dished out 51 assists on the afternoon between the two matches.
 
Maritime outserved their opponents on the afternoon by a 19-13 margin, with Kempski and Steele lead with way with five aces apiece. Kirchner had four while Brady had three aces of her own.
 
Defensively Kempski had 25 digs to lead the way, with freshman Abby Solomos (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) second on the team with 21 digs. Brady chimed in with 16, while Kirchner also had double-figures with 10. Junior Isabella Kent (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) had the team's lone block of the afternoon.
 
Maritime vs. York (NY)
Maritime looked to record its second win of the season over the Cardinals and did not disappoint with a convincing three-set win. Brady had eight kills, while Kempski had seven and Hayes added six in the victory, while Kempski and Solomos led the defensive effort with a combined 20 digs.
 
York started out the opening set with the first three points of the match before the Privateers rattled off the next six including three aces from Steele and a kill from Steele as well. The Cardinals kept it close and had the score even at seven before the Privateers pulled ahead behind an ace from Solomos and kills from both Brady and Steele.
 
The Privateers led by one at 17-16 before earning service again and putting the set to rest with two kills by Kempski, ace by Steele and a few York miscues to give the Privateers the opener at 25-21.
 
Maritime's best set of the day came in the second as the Privateers coasted to a 25-11 win. Maritime jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead behind strong service by Brady, who recorded three aces along the way. The Privateers led by a 16-8 score before rattling off the next seven points to put the set out of reach at 23-8. Kent got the 24th point on a kill before a service error gave the Privateers the win.
 
The early-going of the third set was even with the score tied at four, Maritime put down the next three points led by a kill from Hayes. York was able to tie the score at seven, but Maritime proved to be too much for the Cardinals with a 9-2 rally to open up a 16-9 lead. York fought back to make the score 23-18, but it was too much as a pair of errors gave Maritime the three-set win over the Cardinals.
 
Maritime vs. William Paterson
Coming off the momentum in the opener against the Cardinals, Maritime looked to make it a second win on the day against the host Pioneers but fell short in its effort falling by the scores of 25-19, 25-15, and 25-16.
 
Brady had 13 kills against the Pioneers, while Kempski was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and a match-high 14 digs. Solomos added a dozen digs, while Steele had seven kills on the match.
 
The Privateers held an 8-6 set lead in the opener as Kempski spearheaded the effort with two aces and a kill. However, William Paterson stormed back with six of the next seven points in the set to open up a 12-9 lead. Maritime was unable to get any closer than two through the remainder of the set as the Pioneers won by an opening set score of 25-19.
 
William Paterson opened up the second set with a 13-2 run and didn't turn back as Maritime was unable to get closer than nine points through the remainder of the set as the Pioneers won by a 25-15 score. The third set was similar as William Paterson scored an early 12-2 lead, which proved to be too much for Maritime to overcome despite a strong attacking game by the Privateers, who tallied 11 kills in the set including six from Brady.
 
Maritime (8-8, 2-2 Skyline) will return to league play on Tuesday evening, when the Privateers play host to the Mount St. Mary Knights for a 7 p.m. start inside Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
York (NY) (1-17, 0-4 CUNYAC) returns to league play on Monday, when the team hosts Medgar Evers and Baruch for a conference tri-match from the York College Gym. First serve against the Cougars is at 12 p.m.
 
William Paterson (11-7, 1-4 NJAC) heads on the road this Tuesday for a non-conference matchup with Centenary (NJ) with first serve slated for 7 p.m.