THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College volleyball team used a big serving game to record its first win of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Privateers (1-8) finished with 20 aces in a dominant 25-19, 25-6, 25-7 victory over York (1-3) at Riesenberg Gymnasium. Earlier in the day, Maritime suffered a 19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 17-15 loss to Pratt (4-3).
After the Cardinals jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first set, the Privateers responded with an 8-0 run highlighted by three
Addison Weist (Staten Island, NY) kills. An ace by
Lara Cocis (Coeur d'Alene, ID) made it 18-10, but York countered with a 6-3 spurt to get back within five at 21-16. The Cardinals fought off four Maritime set point opportunities before
Laci Werner (New York, NY) smashed a kill to close out the frame, 25-19.
Mikaela Thiel (Fort Morgan, CO) started the second set with four aces in the first six points.
Ashley Pavarini (Ossining, NY) then had four aces of her own during a 9-0 run that extended the Privateers' lead to 19-4.
Xieana Rodriguez (Queens, NY) added two more aces, including one on set point, as Maritime cruised to a 25-6 win.
It was more of the same in the third set. The Privateers jumped out to a 9-2 advantage before rattling off nine straight points on Pavarini's serve. A Cocis kill brought Maritime to match point, and Thiel, fittingly, finished things off with the Privateers' 20
th ace of the match. Maritime took the third set by a 25-7 count.
In addition to serving six aces, Thiel had 21 assists and six digs. Pavarini also tallied six aces, while Rodriguez was credited with four aces. As a team, the Privateers hit .279 (29 kills, 12 errors, 61 attempts), with Werner slamming a match-high 10 kills. Weist added seven kills, and
Joan Anastasiades (Rockaway Beach, NY) collected six digs.
For York, MaliaJewel Bembry-Morris led the way with four kills to go along with two blocks. Sonia Correa, meanwhile, handed out four assists. Zia Lefebvre paced the Cardinals with four digs while also notching three kills.
Thiel began Maritime's matchup with the Cannoneers by serving consecutive aces, as the Privateers claimed four of the first five points. Pratt rallied to tie the score at 4-4 before Maritime went on a 14-4 spurt to go up 18-8. The Cannoneers responded with an 11-2 run, though, to get back within one at 20-19. Werner smacked a kill on the next point, though, to start a 5-0 rally that gave the Privateers a 25-19 set win.
Continuing her dominant serving day, Thiel had aces on four of the first five points in the second set. After Pratt took the lead, 12-11, Maritime claimed five of the next six points, with another Thiel ace making it 16-13. After a Cocis ace gave the Privateers a 21-18 advantage, the Cannoneers rattled off three straight points to tie the score. Maritime responded with a 3-0 run of its own before wrapping up the set, 25-22.
Pratt jumped out to the early lead in the third set, opening up a 6-2 cushion. The Privateers forced an 8-8 deadlock before the Cannoneers went on an 11-4 run to pull ahead 19-12. A Pavarini kill stared a 9-4 Maritime run that brought the Privateers back within two, 23-21, but Pratt took the next two points to clinch a 25-21 set win and send the match into a fourth frame.
Another Thiel ace started the fourth set before Pratt went in front 7-4.
Emma DeMuro's (Mahopac, NY) block capped a 5-1 Maritime spurt that gave the Privateers a 9-8 lead, but the Cannoneers countered with 11 of the next 15 points to open up a 19-13 cushion. After Maritime got back within two at 20-18, Pratt ended the set on a 5-2 spurt to earn a 25-20 win that forced a decisive frame.
There were seven ties in the fifth set. The Cannoneers notched the first three points before the Privateers took seven of the next nine. After three straight Werner kills put Maritime up 11-7, Pratt rallied to force a 12-12 deadlock. The Privateers claimed the next two points to reach match point, but the Cannoneers responded with a 3-0 run of their own to earn their first match point opportunity. Maritime fought it off with a Weist kill, then Pratt reached match point again on a Colleen Russell kill. Russell followed with another kill, giving the Cannoneers a 17-15 set win and a 3-2 match victory. The total score across all five sets was 108-106 Pratt.
Maritime had 18 aces against Pratt, with Thiel serving nine of them. She was one ace shy of a triple-double after also posting 35 assists and 10 digs. Werner recorded a double-double of her own with 18 kills (on .318 hitting) and 13 digs. Cocis finished with five aces and six blocks, while Weist notched eight kills and a team-best 18 digs. Pavarini added eight kills to go along with 12 digs.
Russell smashed a match-high 20 kills while also contributing 12 digs and six blocks. Emma Hwang recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 14 digs to go along with five aces. Kelsey Padilla finished with 13 kills and eight digs, while Zoe Broerman collected 12 digs. Alison Sontag, meanwhile, tallied seven blocks for the Cannoneers.
Up next for Maritime is a 7 p.m. matchup at CCNY (4-6) on Thursday. After playing four out of five at home, the match will mark the start of a stretch where the Privateers play seven out of nine away from Riesenberg Gymnasium.
