Wayne, NJ | The College of Staten Island women's volleyball team dropped both ends of a non-conference trimatch this afternoon held at William Paterson University.  The Dolphins lost to the host Pioneers, 3-0, by individual scores of 25-22, 25-17, and 25-13.  In their final match CSI lost a heartbreaker to Mount Saint Mary, 3-2, by individual scores of 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 20-25, 15-13.

MATCH ONE - William Paterson 3, Staten Island 0
The Dolphins had a tough go of it in the opener.  Despite a close first set, the Pioneers were able to register a win in the opener and from there, they were able to keep the CSI attack in check and skated to the 3-0 win.

Four different attackers registered kills for WPU in the opening set to help them take a quick, 5-1, edge in the opener.  The Dolphins answered back to make in 8-5 on a Celina Mendez kill but then another 5-1 run, finished off by two Christine Griffith kills made in 13-6.  Kills my Margaret O'Malley-Rebovich and Jay-La Guy brough CSI back to within 18-14, and after two kills from Caitlin Esposito the score was just 19-18 in WPU's favor.  Amanda Lembo then took over and scored back-to-back kills for WPU and Chellian Phillips added another to put WPU back up, 22-18.  CSI refused to go quietly as O'Malley-Rebovich scored two more kills and Esposito added another as CSI closed to 23-22.

WPU was able to stem the CSI tide, and Dakota Apicella powered home a kill and Griffith added another right after on serve to give the Pioneers a 25-22 opening set win.

The Pioneers used the momentum to take an early, 3-0, lead in the second set, but CSI fought back to take a 9-8 lead, their first of the game, highlighted by another pair of Esposito kills.  CSI later led 11-9, but later, with the score tied at 13-13, WPU made their move.  After a CSI serve error, Griffith added an ace and the Phillips powered in a kill to help start a 7-3 run.  CSI closed to 20-17, but the Pioneers had the final answer, finishing the frame on a 5-0 run to win it, finished with a Kendall Caruso kill and a Camryn Norman ace.

An early 8-1 run by WPU was the fuel they needed to finish off the match with a great third set.  Cassidy Iannariello posted an ace for CSI to make in 8-5, but the Pioneers punched back with a 13-4 run, ignited by two Lembo aces.  From there, the Pioneers cruised to a 25-13 win.

Toman finished with 15 kills to lead WPU, while Griffith was next with nine kills and led the way with three aces.  Caruso posted 34 assists, while Norman posted 10 digs, with Caruso and Lembo adding eight apiece.  For CSI, they were led by Guy's 10 kills and three blocks.  Iannariello posted three aces and 11 digs, while Francesca Castellano posted a game-high 15 digs and Arianna Spears put up 29 assists.  

MATCH TWO - Mount Saint Mary 3, Staten Island 2
Every point was critical in this one and it started with a narrow first set.  A kill by Alex Klesin got MSM out to a 5-2 start, but CSi took the lead later, 10-9 on kills by Castellano and O'Malley-Rebovich.  After a pair lead changes and ties, MSM then used a small, 3-0, spurt to take a late 19-16 edge, with all three kills coming from Klesin.  Down 22-17, CSI pulled to within 24-23 on three MSM attack errors, but a CSi error at the next stopped the comeback and the Knights took victory in set one.

In the second, the Knights ripped off a 7-1 start, powered by aces from Alyssa Barbara and Danielle Kralik.  CSI then cut the lead to 8-7 thanks to more kills from Castellano and O'Malley-Rebovich and an ace from Iannariello, but MSM hit back and a Barbara kill finalized a 9-5 run that gave the Knights a 17-12 lead.  When CSI cut the lead to three later, the Knights ripped out a 4-0 spurt, ended by a Morgan Burke ace to pull MSM up to 21-14 and they took the set, 25-19.

CSI needed a comeback and that's exactly what they got.  Despite falling behind early, CSI put up an 11-2 run to take an early lead, highlighted by two O'malley-Rebovich kills and another from Mendez.  A Klesin kill helped cut the CSI down, and CSI was only up 15-14 at that point.  A big 4-0 run helped CSI pump the lead back up, as a Mendez ace gave CSI a 23-17 lead and they would hang on to win the set, 25-19.

With momentum, CSI got off to a 3-0 start in the fourth set and were able to outlast MSM despite seven ties.  The last tie came at 15-15, and Spears scored an ace to get CSI going.  A kill by Guy and then Esposito gave CSI a 19-16 edge and CSI was able to then extend to 22-17 on a kill by O'Malley-Rebovich, giving them enough of a cushion to win the set, 25-20.

The match then moved to a winner-take-all fifth and final set.  A Klaire Wall ace and a Kralik kill gave MSM a quick, 2-0, lead, and that got MSM off to an 8-1 start.  CSI seemed doomed, but a Castellano kill stopped the run and CSI then started to chip away.  

Still, a kill by Nicole Spinelli gave MSM a 14-9 lead, and the Knights appeared to have it won.  But CSi rallied back.  After an error, Guy and O'Malley-Rebovich pumped in kills to make it 14-12.  MSM asked for time but then errored on their next attempt to make it 14-13.  On the final play, Kralik was able to bury a ball off of the CSI defensive block, giving MSM to 15-13 win in the set and the match.

Klesin led all with 17 kills, adding eight digs.  Burke had four aces while Kim Greis led with 40 assists and Jenny Picarillo led defensively with nine digs.  O'Malley-Rebovich tallied 15 kills in the loss, adding a team-high four blocks.  Castellano finished with 12 kills and 24 digs, a season high.  Spears would finish with 36 assists.

CSI will next be in action on Thursday, October 18, when they host Hunter College in their penultimate match of the season, at 6pm.