JAMAICA, NY – The Maritime College volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a dominant 3-0 sweep of York.  The Privateers faced the Cardinals again on Thursday night at York College Gymnasium, and the result was similar.  Maritime (5-9) picked up its second consecutive win, knocking off York (1-6) by a 25-9, 25-13, 25-22 score.

Maritime scored the first five points of the match and quickly extended that advantage to 12-2.  After York claimed the next three points to pull within 12-5, the Privateers ended the set on a 13-4 run.  Victoria Cordero (Bronx, NY) served the final seven points of Maritime's 25-9 win.  The Privateers hit .438 as a team in the set, smashing eight kills and only committing one error in 16 attempts. 

York took its first lead, 2-1, early in the second set before the Privateers went on a 3-0 run to go ahead 4-2.  After Maritime opened up a 10-5 margin, the Cardinals scored four of the next six points to pull within 12-9.  However, a Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) kill followed by four successive Samantha Hart (Brooklyn, NY) service aces made it 17-9.  Kelly Kuhn (Lansdale, PA) served consecutive aces to give the Privateers a set point, and a Mele kill finished off the 25-13 triumph that gave Maritime a 2-0 lead in the match.

After the Privateers raced out to a 9-2 cushion in the third set, York rattled off five straight points to get within 9-7.  Maritime responded with a 6-2 spurt to make it 15-8, but the Cardinals again stormed back, trimming their deficit to three at 15-12.  An Erica Pagano (Lawrence, NY) ace brought the lead back to seven, 20-13, before York rallied within four, 23-19.  Pagano ripped a kill to set up match point, and the Privateers closed out the sweep with a 25-22 third-set win.

Mele led Maritime with eight kills.  Pagano added six kills and three aces, while Hart had five aces.  Diana Rodriguez (Queens, NY) slammed five kills on .444 hitting to go along with a career-high 10 digs.  Cordero also tallied 10 digs, and Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) handed out 14 assists.

For the Cardinals, Alicia Gumbs finished with three kills, six digs and three aces.  Shamonie Miller also had three kills and six digs, and Cherub Autar registered a team-high seven digs to go along with five assists.

Up next for the Privateers (2-3 Skyline) is a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Merchant Marine (7-7, 4-1 Skyline) at Riesenberg Gymnasium on Tuesday.  It will be the start of a season-long three-match homestand for Maritime.