THROGGS NECK, NY – For the first time since 2016, the Maritime College volleyball team began its season with a tri-match on Saturday afternoon.  After suffering a 25-12, 25-21, 25-13 loss to Mitchell (1-1), the Privateers (0-2) dropped a 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 decision against Delhi (2-1) at Riesenberg Gymnasium.

Against Mitchell, Maritime surrendered the first three points of the match before cutting its deficit to 4-3 on a block by Grace Devaney (Lynbrook, NY) and Karelys Rolon (Hudson, FL).  However, the Mariners responded with a 9-3 run to extend their advantage to 13-6, then, after the Privateers claimed three straight points, used a 9-0 spurt to open up a 22-9 cushion.  Mitchell took the opening set by a 25-12 count.

After the Mariners raced out to a 14-9 lead in the second set, Soraya Hall (Valrico, FL) smashed a kill to spark a 9-2 Maritime rally that put the Privateers in front, 18-16.  The Privateers still led, 20-18, when Mitchell went on a 6-0 run to reach set point.  Maritime fought off one set point on a Rolon kill before the Mariners closed out the frame, 25-21.

Mitchell built an early cushion again in the third set, opening up a 15-3 advantage.  An Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) kill started an 8-2 Maritime run that got the Privateers within 17-11, but the Mariners responded with four straight points to push the margin to 21-11.  Mitchell won the set by a score of 25-13 to finish off the 3-0 victory.

Rolon nearly had a double-double in her collegiate debut, finishing with team-highs of nine kills and 10 digs.  Hall contributed five kills and five digs, while Devaney recorded five blocks.  Fellow newcomer Mikaela Thiel (Fort Morgan, CO) contributed 20 assists, six digs and three blocks to go along with two service aces.

Genna Hyde led the Mariners with 18 kills.  She added six digs and three aces.  Allison Blum served eight aces to go along with seven kills and nine digs, while Kiersten Veenstra tallied 26 assists, six digs and three aces.  Julia Lent posted a match-high 12 digs for Mitchell, which hit a combined .265 (34 kills, 12 errors, 83 attempts) as a team.

In Maritime's second contest of the day, Delhi scored seven of the first eight points.  The Privateers battled all the way back, however, and took a 15-14 lead on a Victoria Cordero (Bronx, NY) ace.  After a Thiel ace put Maritime in front 17-16, the Broncos responded with a 9-1 run to go up 24-18.  The Privateers fought off one set point before Delhi closed out the frame, 25-19.

There were seven ties early in the second set.  Delhi broke a 10-10 deadlock with three consecutive points, and the Broncos extended the margin to 18-14 before Maritime used a 3-0 spurt to get back within 18-17.  Delhi ended the set on a 7-2 run, however, to notch a 25-19 win and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

The Broncos started the third set by capturing eight of the first 10 points before a Devaney block ignited a 9-1 Maritime run.  The Privateers had seven consecutive kills during the rally, then, after Delhi snapped the string, smacked two more to go up 13-10.  Delhi tied the score at 18-18, but Pavarini responded with a kill to put Maritime back in front.  The Broncos rattled off six of the next eight points, though, and Delhi wrapped up a 3-0 victory by claiming the third frame, 25-22.

Hall led the Privateers with nine kills on .318 hitting.  Rolon tallied seven kills and 14 digs, while Pavarini and Devaney had six kills apiece.  Pavarini also distributed nine assists.  Thiel finished with 14 assists, and Cordero notched a team-best 15 digs.  Alexa Nolan (Queens, NY), meanwhile, registered 10 digs.

Sage Renneisen and Madelyn Diep each posted nine kills for the Broncos.  Diep added 12 digs.  Finley Benn contributed eight kills and 11 digs, while Audrey Logsdon tallied 15 digs to go along with six assists.  Michaella DeCapua just missed a double-double with 18 assists and nine digs, and Laurel Poston handed out 10 assists.  As a team, the Broncos hit .207 (39-15-116) in the match.

Up next for the Privateers is a 7 p.m. matchup with Brooklyn (0-0) on Tuesday.  It will be Maritime's third straight home match to open the season.