Box Score
Purchase, NY (Sept. 4, 2013) – Purchase celebrated its home opener in grand fashion Wednesday night, shutting out the College of Staten Island, 3-0.
The Panthers battled in a competitive opening set, taking the game 25-20 before steadily pushing the contest with an improved set in game two and an even better showing in game three. The Panthers won the second set, 25-17, and closed the match in a 25-5 set in game three.
The evening's victory marked the first of the season for the Panthers and the first for new head coach Marc Solondz as the new leading man behind the bench at Purchase. For Solondz, it is also his 97th career victory as a head coach, but he said afterward, that this win is one of his most gratifying in recent memory.
"We're hoping it's the first of many this season," Solondz said in the postgame. "We are building something special here.
"I was very impressed by the performance and I expect us to continue to improve match-by-match."
On Wednesday night, Purchase improved set-by-set. The Panthers looked strong from the opening serve and although the first set was a see-saw battle, Purchase rallied and closed strong. The team did the same in set two and then coasted in the final set.
Solondz played his entire 10 player roster in the victory and the unit responded with all making contributions on the evening. Reserves Jade Hackett (SO/Mount Vernon, NY), LeiAnna Frazier (SR/Brooklyn, NY) and Olivia Gelsinger (SO/East Aurora, NY) all saw action in the resounding win.
Purchase was led by standout newcomer Alex Lally (FR/Sunnyvale, TX), who finished with a team and match best 11 kills. She added 11 digs and four service aces to her credit before the night was over. Lally is fresh off a Skyline Conference honor roll mention for player of the week, which was announced Tuesday night.
Setter Olivia Schoeller (FR/Ronkonkoma, NY) was masterful yet again for the Panthers, dishing out 21 assists on the night after leading the team in the opening loss at Manhattanville on Friday.
Libero Leticia Barrientos (JR/Elmsford, NY) also performed well in the home opener, recording five digs. Captain Cathryn Mulvey (SR/Scarsdale, NY) added eight digs, two kills and a service ace as well, while teammates Moneace Smith (JR/San Francisco, CA), Mildi Rodriguez (JR/Yonkers, NY) and Alicia McCarthy (FR/Plano, TX) added to a nice team line of stats. McCarthy was second on the team in kills for the night, totaling five and she served up seven of Purchase's 19 aces.
For CSI, it was the team's season opener. The Dolphins dropped to 0-1. CSI was paced by Monica Concepcion, who recorded nine kills.
Purchase will host John Jay next on Sept. 10.
