NEWBURGH, NY – The Maritime College women's volleyball team played a pair of matches at Mount St. Mary's Kaplan Center on Saturday.  After falling to the host Knights (13-11, 7-4 Skyline) by a 25-8, 25-14, 25-18 count, the Privateers (5-14, 3-7 Skyline) dropped a 25-17, 25-9, 25-19 decision to Pratt (14-5) in their second match of the day.

Mount St. Mary jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set of Maritime's opening match and eventually extended its advantage to 15-3.  After the Privateers rallied for three straight points, the Knights responded with seven in a row to increase the margin to 22-6 en route to a 25-8 set win. 

It was more of the same in the second set, as Mount St. Mary used a 10-0 run to turn a 4-3 cushion into a 14-3 lead.  The Knights won the set 25-14 to go up 2-0 in the match.

After Maritime scored the first three points of the third set, Mount St. Mary responded with a 9-1 spurt to pull ahead, 9-4.  The Privateers rallied to tie the score, though, as Celyna Custodio (Danbury, CT) smashed three consecutive kills to make it 12-12.  It was still knotted at 16-16 when the Knights rattled off seven straight points to take a 23-16 lead.  Mount St. Mary took the set, 25-18, to close out the victory.

Custodio paced the Privateers with eight kills and 13 digs.  Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) added six kills, while Brooke Kirchner (Lawrence, NY) had 13 assists and seven digs to go along with two service aces.  Diana Rodriguez (Queens, NY) also recorded seven digs for Maritime.

Grace Riddle had 16 of Mount St. Mary's 31 kills, hitting .419 in the match.  She also tallied five digs and four aces.  Fran Cammarata haded out 26 assists, and Alyssa Barbara recorded 11 digs and five aces.  The Knights hit .289 (31 kills, nine errors, 76 attempts) as a team.

There were seven ties and five lead changes in the first set of Maritime's encounter with Pratt.  The Privateers built an early 7-3 cushion before Pratt scored five consecutive points to go up 8-7.  After Maritime rallied to take a 13-11 advantage, Pratt used a 5-0 spurt to regain the lead, 16-13.  A Mele ace brought the Privateers back within one at 17-16, but the Cannoneers ended the set on an 8-1 run to earn a 25-17 win.

Pratt never trailed in the second set.  The Cannoneers scored seven of the first nine points en route to a 25-9 triumph that gave them a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Neither team was able to gain a lead of more than two points early in a back-and-forth third set.  However, after a Custodio kill gave Maritime a 16-14 advantage, Pratt went on an 8-1 rally to go up 22-17.  The Cannoneers took the third set by a 25-19 margin to finish off the 3-0 victory.

Mele finished with seven kills to lead the Privateers.  She also served two aces.  Kirchner distributed 12 assists to go along with five digs, and Rodriguez tallied a team-high nine digs.

For Pratt, Madeline Markley led the way with 10 kills (on .444 hitting) and three blocks.  Olivia Julich contributed nine kills, while Hannah Leitten posted 34 assists and three aces.  Chloe Nimmer had six kills and a match-high 10 digs, and Elizabeth Hannah served three aces to go along with her six kills.  As a team, the Cannoneers hit .322 (42-14-87) in the match.

On Thursday, the Privateers conclude their home schedule by welcoming Farmingdale State (13-9, 8-1 Skyline) to Riesenberg Gymnasium at 6 p.m.  Maritime will honor seniors Custodio and Meghan Eagleton (Poughkeepsie, NY) prior to the match.