KINGS POINT, NY – On Monday night, the Maritime College volleyball team traveled to Merchant Marine for a Skyline Conference matchup.  Playing the first of three conference matches in five days, the Privateers (2-12, 1-6 Skyline) fell to the Mariners (11-6, 8-1 Skyline) by a 25-11, 25-16, 25-13 count at Liebertz Gym.

After Merchant Marine raced out to an 8-3 lead in the first set, Maritime battled back within three at 10-7.  However, the Mariners responded with 10 of the next 12 points to extend their advantage to 20-9 en route to a 25-11 set win.

Maritime captured the first two points of the second set before Merchant Marine scored 11 of the next 14 to make it 11-5.  After the Mariners opened up an 18-10 cushion, the Privateers rattled off four points in a row to cut their deficit to four, 18-14.  However, Merchant Marine would end the frame on a 7-2 run to earn a 25-16 win and go up 2-0 in the match.

In the third set, the Mariners again jumped out to an early lead, 8-2.  Merchant Marine eventually pushed the margin to 13 points at 21-9 before Maritime went on a 5-1 run to pull within 22-13.  However, Merchant Marine scored the final three points to close out the set, 25-13, and the match, 3-0.

Erica Pagano (Lawrence, NY) paced the Privateers with seven kills, while Celyna Custodio (Danbury, CT) had six kills and a team-high 11 digs.  Victoria Cordero (Bronx, NY) tallied eight digs, and Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) recorded seven digs in her first match back from injury.  Brooke Kirchner (Lawrence, NY), meanwhile, dished out 14 assists to go along with six digs.

For Merchant Marine, Paige Smith led the way with 10 kills, and she added nine digs and three service aces.  Brittany Breland posted nine kills, while Claire Hyun finished with 22 assists and four aces.  Skyler Burnham collected a match-high 12 digs for the Mariners, who hit .276 (42 kills, 15 errors, 98 attempts) as a team.

The Privateers hit the road again on Wednesday night, when they visit Purchase (2-15, 1-6 Skyline) at 7 p.m.