The College of Staten Island women's volleyball team took on the Hawks of Hunter College this evening at the CSI Sports & Rec Center for the first time this season.  The Dolphins played in front of a packed gym that rattled after every Dolphins point.  Staten Island, however, would fall in straight sets to the Hawks, 3-0 to fall to 1-5 on the year and 1-2 in the CUNYAC.

Match: Hunter 3, Staten Island 0 (14-25, 15-25, 16-25)

The Dolphins fell behind early in the opening set 7-3. From there the Hawks went on a 4-0 run to extend their lead.  Teresa Maresca was able to stop the Hawks' run when she collected a service ace bring the Dolphins within six points.  Staten Island wasn't able to get a foothold in the set which led to the Hawks tallying a match-high 14 kills. The Dolphins hit -.136 in the opening set with just four kills on 22 attacks.

The second set the Dolphins improved, hitting -.053 as a team with three kills on 19 attacks. Both the Dolphins and the Hawks would go back-and-forth scoring points.  The Dolphins trailed 10-11 midway through the second set before the Hawks ripped off a 7-1 run to take an 18-11 lead. The Dolphins started to struggle at the end of the set, causing unforced errors which ultimately led to their demise in the second set.  
  Hunter got off to a roaring start in the third set as they took a 9-0 lead before the Dolphins settled in and started to play their own game. CSI was able to cut the lead down to just five after three straight attacking errors by the Hawks, two of which by Taylor Haiduk, the team leader in kills. Ashley Notaro got in on the action when she collected a kill to put the Dolphins down six. Caitlin Esposito was the top kill collector for the Dolphins this evening, tallying four kills, one of which came late in the third set to bring the Dolphins within seven.  Unfortunately, it was not enough to lift the Dolphins to a win, but the team has shown improvement in each game this season.

The Dolphins will return to action on Tuesday, September 19 when they travel to take on Medgar Evers College at 7:00 pm.