THROGGS NECK, N.Y. - The Purchase College women's volleyball team lost in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night, falling to Skyline Conference foe Maritime College in five-sets.
Set scores for the contest were 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 19-25 and 8-15. The match was the first time the Panthers played a five setter since September 23, 2019, when, interestingly enough, they lost to these same Privateers of Maritime.
Things started off nicely for Purchase, as the guests rallied for an opening-set win. After the hosts tied the contest in the second frame, the Panthers emerged victorious in the middle set by outlasting Maritime in the back-and-forth affair. Up by the set count of 2-1, Purchase was a in a great spot to win the match.
However, the Privateers never backed down and that resilience paid off in the end. In the fourth frame, the two sides played a mostly even matchup until three-fifths of the way through, when Maritime started to pull away.
Winning by the mark of 16-15, the Privateers scored six of the next seven points to extend their advantage to 22-16. Shortly after, they tied the contest at two sets each following their 25-19 win.
As the two sides entered the fifth and final set, it was anyone's match. But just as quickly as it started, Maritime quickly jumped ahead and never relented. The hosts scored four of the first five points and nine of the first 12. From there, they held Purchase at bay to secure the set, 15-8, to win the match, 3-2.
Despite the loss, Purchase put forward one of its best efforts of the year. In all, the team recorded 31 kills on .072 hitting. As for Maritime, the hosts tallied 55 kills on .211 hitting.
Individually,
Pamella Gonzalez (JR/Bronx, NY) led the guests with 12 points (nine kills and three aces) and 20 digs.
Lilith Bastek-Ochoa (FR/Sag Harbor, NY) added nine kills and 10 digs, while
Karina Medina added 25 assists and nine digs in the loss.
With the result, the Panthers dropped 3-13 overall and 1-9 in the Skyline. Meanwhile, the Privateers improved to 5-12 and 3-7 respectively.
Up next for Purchase is the 2021 season finale, as the team travels to St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn on October 28th. That match is set to begin at 7 p.m. and you can follow it here.
