THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College volleyball team had a season-high 46 kills and three Privateers posted double-doubles against Purchase on Thursday night.  After dropping the first set, Maritime (6-10, 3-4 Skyline) rallied for a 24-26, 25-18, 25-14, 25-13 triumph over the Panthers (4-13, 2-6 Skyline) at Riesenberg Gymnasium.  It was the Privateers' third win in their last four matches.

Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) had 27 assists to go along with a career-high 23 digs.  She also hit .467, tallying seven kills without an error in 15 attempts.  Erica Pagano (Lawrence, NY) finished with 15 kills and 17 digs, and Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) notched 11 kills and 12 digs for her third double-double of the season.  She added seven service aces and four assists.  Victoria Cordero (Bronx, NY) just missed making it four double-doubles for the Privateers, ending up with 15 digs and nine assists.  Diana Rodriguez (Queens, NY), meanwhile, collected nine digs.  Maritime recorded 80 digs as a team and hit a combined .176 (46-22-136).

Purchase scored the first five points of the match and eventually opened up a 7-2 lead before the Privateers rallied to go in front, 11-10.  After Maritime built a 17-12 cushion, the Panthers responded with a 9-4 run to force a 21-21 deadlock.  There were seven tie scores in the first set, the last of which came at 24-24.  Purchase fought off a set point at 24-23, then finished off the frame, 26-24, by winning the next two.

After the Panthers jumped ahead 6-4 in the second set, kills by Pavarini and Mele, followed by consecutive Pagano aces gave the Privateers an 8-6 advantage.  Mele then served back-to-back aces to spark a 7-2 spurt that increased the margin to 18-11.  Purchase trimmed its deficit to three at 20-17 before Maritime ended the set on a 5-1 run.  Mele's fourth ace of the set capped off the 25-18 win that leveled the match.

Maritime raced out to a 5-0 advantage in the third set.  A Mele ace extended the lead to 9-2 before Purchase climbed back within four at 17-13.  Pagano ripped three straight kills to start a 6-0 Maritime rally, though, bringing the margin back to 10 points at 23-13.  The Privateers hit .292 (12-5-24) in the set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-14 win.

In the fourth set, the Privateers again built an early cushion.  Maritime won the first 11 points of the set and held leads of 16-2 and 18-3.  With the Privateers in front 21-5, Purchase went on a 7-2 run to pull within 23-12.  A Rodriguez kill brought Maritime to match point, and a Pagano kill finished off the set, 25-13, and the Privateers' first 3-1 victory in nearly two years (Oct. 14, 2021 vs. Old Westbury).  It was Maritime's first win after dropping the first set since a 3-2 triumph over Purchase on Oct. 21, 2021.

For Purchase, Lilith Bastek-Ochoa and Ava Landreth led the way with nine kills apiece.  Bastek-Ochoa added 11 digs.  Lauren White tallied eight kills and eight digs, while Natalia Leite posted 26 assists and 18 digs.  Maya Brown paced the Panthers with 19 digs.

On Saturday, the Privateers conclude their three-match homestand by welcoming Medgar Evers (0-13) to Riesenberg Gymnasium at 1 p.m.