MADISON, NJ – The Maritime College volleyball team played its fourth straight match away from home on Friday night. The Privateers (3-6) were unable to come away with the victory, however, as FDU-Florham (8-5) earned a 25-10, 31-29, 25-10 win at Ferguson Recreation Center.
After FDU-Florham easily took the first set, 25-10, there were seven ties and four lead changes in an extended second set. The Knights jumped out to a 10-5 advantage before a
Jessica Mele (Southold, NY) service ace capped a 9-5 run that brought the Privateers within one, 15-14.
FDU-Florham reached set point at 24-21, but Maritime rattled off four straight to earn a set point of its own. The Privateers had another set point at 26-25, then fought off two opportunities for the Devils. A kill by
Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) put Maritime up 29-28, but FDU-Florham captured the next three points to clinch a 31-29 win and go ahead 2-0 in the match.
In the third set, the Devils scored the first five points. After FDU-Florham extended the margin to 17-4, Maritime went on a 5-3 run to get within 20-9. The Devils, however, ended the match on a 5-1 spurt to finish off the set, 25-10, and the 3-0 sweep.
Mele
finished with a team-best eight kills for the Privateers, and she added three aces.
Erica Pagano (Lawrence, NY) tallied seven kills and 10 digs, while
Victoria Cordero (Bronx, NY) also notched 10 digs. Pavarini handed out 13 assists to go along with nine digs.
For the Devils, Rachel Reiter led the way with 10 kills on .429 hitting. Jada Everett hit .583 with eight kills. She also served four of FDU-Florham's 12 aces. Adrienne DeFuria and Kiara Salme had nine digs apiece, and Charlotte Fruscione added eight digs. Tori Carrico finished with 14 assists and Lilli Nawrotski distributed 11 assists for the Devils, who recorded a team hitting percentage of .275 (37 kills, nine errors, 102 attempts).
Maritime (1-1 Skyline) returns to Riesenberg Gymnasium on Monday for a 7 p.m. matchup against St. Joseph's Brooklyn (2-2, 0-0 Skyline). It will be the Privateers' first home conference match of the season.
