BROOKLYN --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College women's volleyball faced the Brooklyn Bulldogs and Hunter Hawks in a CUNYAC tri-match inside West Quad Center Gymnasium, dropping both encounters in straight sets. The Bulldogs (9-8, 1-0 CUNYAC) prevailed (25-7, 25-11, 25-7), and the Hawks (8-3, 1-0 CUNYAC) won (25-9, 25-4, 25-10). 

The first match saw Brooklyn race out to an early 10-1 advantage. York settled down, as kills by Ellma Hodzic and Andrea Wright helped the Cardinals take six of the following fourteen points. The Bulldogs responded, though, winning the final seven points. Showing glimpses in the first stanza, the Cardinals began the next strong, as two kills from Hodzic evened the score at six. Brooklyn did not flounder, going on a 19-5 burst to claim the stanza. The Bulldogs maintained control throughout the third period, never trailing by double digits. 

Hodzic's kills in the first two stanzas gave her a career-high five. Additionally, she improved her team-high in attack attempts to 30 and had a career-best 12 digs. Those 12 digs are tops for the Cardinals this campaign. Cherub Autar and Andrea Wright also recorded points. Autar tallied one kill, the team's only ace, and had three assists. Wright totaled two kills. 

Even with the loss, Cardinal coaches remained encouraged.

"We took 60 swings! That tells me we were able to control the narrative on our side and keep the ball in play enough for our team to attack."-said head coach Christy Herring. 

Aleah Rafat, Chidera Nwaghanata, and Kaita Mercado guided the Bulldogs. Rafat had game highs in points (11) and kills (9). Nwaghanata recorded four aces and five kills. Mercado finished with a game-best eight aces and sixteen assists. 

Brooklyn controlled the match in kills (33-8), aces (20-1), and assists (32-8).

The Hunter encounter offered similar results. The Hawks strolled to a first set victory, as a 12-0 run enhanced their advantage by nineteen points. Hunter recorded the final fifteen points of the second stanza. York put together a better display in the third stanza, with the Hawks recording leads of only 8-6 and 9-7. However, Hunter tallied six unanswered points as part of a larger 16-3 to end the match. 

Hodzic, Autar, and Shamonie Miller each recorded a kill. Hodzic had York's only ace of the affair, and Autar set her teammates up twice for winners. Miller led the Cardinals with five digs. 

For the Hawks, three players tallied 12 or more points. Erin Dugan led the way, totaling seven kills and six aces. Mariam Ouatarra added nine kills and three aces. Pearl Mensah recorded a game-high 12 kills. Setting their teammates up, Kiara Abreu and Bethany Tomaneng combined for 30 assists. 

Hunter maintained the advantage over York in kills (35-3), aces (19-1), assists (34-2), and digs (36-13). 

Although York both encounters in the tri-match, the players should take solace from their display.

"These are the one and two teams in our conference and played with heart and hustle. This was a great bounce back from our last match."-Herring added

The Cardinals (0-12, 0-4 CUNYAC) return to York College Gymnasium Thursday (Oct. 6) to face the SUNY Old Westbury Panthers (3-5) at 6 p.m.

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