The Maritime College women's volleyball team traveled to Newburgh on Saturday afternoon for a tri-match against Skyline Conference foe Mount Saint Mary and non-conference opponent Ramapo College. The Privateers took one set from the Knights before falling in four, and ended up dropping a straight-set decision to the Roadrunners.

In the opening set against Ramapo, Maritime was battling to keep the score within reach after a kill from Celyna Custodio (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) cut the lead to five points at 14-9. Unfortunately, the Roadrunners found their stride and won the final 11 points for a 25-9 victory.

Ramapo continued their momentum into the second set as they jumped out to a 16-4 advantage. However, the Privateers started to find their rhythm and won seven of the next nine points to cut the lead to 18-11. The Roadrunners early lead was too big to overcome though and Maritime dropped the second set 25-14. The third and final set saw another quick lead for Ramapo and they were eventually able to pull away with another 25-14 victory.

Meghan Eagleton (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) led the offense with five kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while Custodio also tallied five kills out of the middle. Erika Kirchner (Meadowmere Park, N.Y./Lawrence) dished out 11 assists while also leading the defensive effort with eight digs.

Against Mount Saint Mary, the Privateers took a thrilling opening set 27-25. Trailing 17-18, Eagleton picked up a big kill on the outside and then stepped to the serving line to help Maritime run seven consecutive points and take a 24-18 lead. However, the Knights answered right back with a big run of their own to tie the set at 24. Two points later with the score knotted at 25, Kirchner turned to Custodio out of the middle who put away back-to-back kills to seal the 27-25 win.

Unfortunately, Maritime couldn't keep their energy going into the second set as an early lead from Mount Saint Mary led them to a 25-7 victory. With the match knotted at one set a piece, the Knights continued to put the pressure on and they took another big lead in set three at 17-4. The Privateers played them even for the rest of the set, but were unable to mount a comeback and went down two sets to one.

Hoping to force a fifth and deciding set, the Privateers started stronger in the fourth set as a kill from Abby Steele (Crossville, Tenn./Stone Memorial) kept it a one-point game at 5-6. The Knights offense bounced back though and continued to be too much for Maritime to handle and they ultimately fell in the set 25-10.

Custodio tallied nine kills out of the middle, while Steele and Eagleton chipped in five and six, respectively. Kirchner added 18 assists, while Rylee Malone (Southington, Conn./University High School of Science & Engineering) and Abby Solomos (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) led the back line with 11 digs each.

The Privateers return to action on October 1 when they host Farmingdale St. at 6:00 p.m. in Riesenberg Hall.