Purchase, NY
(Sept. 10, 2015) – The third set of Thursday night's home opener for the Panthers was the best, but the visiting College of Staten Island utilized a strong start to outlast Purchase 3-0 in the program's first contest on campus.
The Panthers (0-2) dropped the first set 25-16, despite an impressive come-from-behind effort. The hosts then lost 25-11 before putting together their best showing of the night in the final frame, 25-19. In the process, CSI improved to 2-1 in the non-conference meeting.
The Dolphins opened in a 15-0 lead in the first set, but Purchase rallied and scored four of the next five to make it 16-4. Shortly later, the Panthers cut the deficit to 23-11 and then reeled off three straight to make it 24-15. However, CSI took the last of the final two points for the nine-point win.
Purchase trailed only 4-3 in the second set, but CSI opened a 17-7 lead and pulled away late, taking the middle frame by its most convincing margin of the night.
The Panthers and the Dolphins opened the last frame much the same way, with CSI holding a 4-3 advantage. This time, Purchase kept it close, but the Dolphins were able to hold off the hosts en route to the six-point win in the third set.
"We underperformed in the first two sets, but I really liked what I saw from the team in the third set," explained
Purchase head coach Albana Krasniqi. "The goal, of course, is to win the match, but first you have to make sure you're competing in every set. We weren't doing that in the first two sets, despite coming back in the opener. You can't play from behind like that and expect to come back against a good team like CSI.
"We were our most consistent in the third set and that's what we're looking to accomplish every time out," Krasniqi added.
CSI was paced by captain Selma Kolenovic, who recorded a match-high six kills. Setter Brittany Minondo handed out 15 assists in the win for the Dolphins.
Purchase totaled nine kills as a team, with newcomer
Logan Morrissey (FR/Woodbridge, CT) leading the way with three. Setter
Alex Lally (JR/Sunnyvale, TX) netted a team-high seven kills and 10 digs.
Up next, the Panthers return to action at Pratt on Sept. 17.