JAMAICA, N.Y.—The York College women's volleyball team came up just short of a victory over conference-rival the College of Staten Island, losing 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 15-10) on senior night at the York College Gymnasium.

Both York seniors—Stayce Kay Muirhead and NaaDira Patrick—saw strong efforts wasted.  Muirhead saved her best performance for last, as she finished with a career high of 19 kills, while hitting .325 and totaling three blocks.  Patrick added nine kills, four aces and six digs.

The Dolphins rallied from a down a set and also recovered from an early deficit in the pivotal third set on their way to the victory.

The Cardinals took an early, 8-6 lead over the Dolphins in the first after a Patrick kill and later extended the lead to 11-7 after two straight Muirhead kills.  CSI briefly closed to within two points (18-16) after a couple York errors, but after a York timeout, the Cardinals scored three straight to push the lead to 21-16.  CSI once again closed the deficit to two points (22-20) only to see York score three straight to win the set.  Patrick served up an ace to clinch the set. 

The Dolphins opened up a 4-0 lead to start the second set, and York kept trying to come back, getting within one point on seven different occasions, only to see Staten Island score the next point each time.  The last time was at 22-21, but CSI scored three of the next four points to even up the match.

It was York who got off to the fast start in set #3, scoring the first six points, capping off the run with an ace by Kiranjeet Kaur.  But York could not hold on to the lead, as the Dolphins slowly clawed back, eventually evening the score at 20-20.  The two teams then exchanged points until 22-22, when CSI got back-to-back kills from Siobhan Granich and Pola Poskrobko.  After York got the next point, the Cardinals committed an error on the following point, to give the set to the Dolphins.

York once again got off to a quick start in the fourth set, scoring the first four points and later extending its lead to 11-6 after a Tiandra Jones ace.  This time around, York avoided any drama and cruised to the victory, forcing a deciding fifth set.

CSI got the early advantage in the final set, jumping out to a 6-3 cushion after a kill by Selma Kolenovic.  York responded with three straight to tie the score.  The Cardinals would hold an 8-7 advantage as the teams switched courts following a block by Muirhead.  But four straight Dolphin points put CSI back on top for good.  

The Dolphins (8-10, 3-4 CUNYAC) were led by Poskrobko, who had ten kills and 11 digs.  Kolenovic added nine kills and nine digs. 

Also contributing for York was Kiranjeet Kaur, with 29 assists, three aces and ten digs.  Mary Pamolarco and Allison Li each had seven digs.

York (5-22, 1-6 CUNYAC) will close out the regular season on October 28 at John Jay beginning at 6 p.m.