THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College volleyball team opened Skyline Conference play with a matchup against St. Joseph's LI on Thursday. On Ovarian Cancer Awareness Night at Riesenberg Gymnasium, the Privateers (2-11, 0-1 Skyline) suffered a 25-15, 25-18, 25-22 loss to the Golden Eagles (5-3, 1-0 Skyline).
Maritime scored three of the first four points in the match, then opened up a 6-4 lead on back-to-back service aces by
Laci Werner (New York, NY). After St. Joseph's LI rallied to pull ahead 11-9, the Privateers rattled off three straight points to go back in front, 12-11. However, the Golden Eagles ended the set on a 14-3 run to claim a 25-15 win.
St. Joseph's LI continued that momentum early in the second set, capturing the first seven points before increasing its advantage to 12-2. The Golden Eagles eventually extended the margin to 18-6 before Maritime went on a 10-3 run. Four successive Werner kills brought the Privateers within five at 21-16, prompting a St. Joseph's LI timeout. The Golden Eagles took the next point, then closed out a 25-18 set win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, St. Joseph's LI again jumped out to an early lead. After the Golden Eagles built an 8-4 cushion, Maritime responded with five of the next seven points to trim its deficit to one, 10-9. The Privateers were unable to tie the score, however, as St. Joseph's LI won the next point every time Maritime got within one. After the Privateers pulled within 22-21, the Golden Eagles ended the match on a 3-1 spurt. With the 25-22 third set win, St. Joseph's LI completed the 3-0 sweep.
Werner paced Maritime with 12 kills on .346 hitting.
Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) finished with eight kills, while
Mikaela Thiel (Fort Morgan, CO) handed out 26 assists. In addition to distributing four assists,
Joan Anastasiades (Rockaway Beach, NY) tallied a match-high 14 digs.
As a team, the Golden Eagles posted a combined .320 hitting percentage (44 kills, 13 errors, 97 attempts). Isabella Ruehle had nine kills on .571 hitting to go along with 11 digs. Sarah Hansen hit .400 with nine kills and three blocks, while Nina Vanderhoof added nine kills of her own. Olivia Baumann recorded 39 assists, seven digs and four aces for St. Joseph's LI, and Brooke Schoppmeyer tied for the team lead with 11 digs.
Up next for the Privateers is an 11 a.m. match at Purchase (5-6, 0-1 Skyline) on Saturday. It will mark the start of a stretch where Maritime plays four out of its next five on the road.
