QUEENS, N.Y. - Lehman College volleyball made the trip to Queens and York College for a CUNYAC multi-match. The Blue and Gold would defeat John Jay 3-0 early before returning to beat Medgar Evers 3-1. The Lightning are now 2-3 on the season, and a perfect 2-0 in the CUNYAC.

In the first match, against John Jay, Lehman dominated play in sweeping the Bloodhounds, 25-19, 25-17, 25-13. In the first set, Lehman rallied from a 19-17 deficit to take the win, on the service of sophomore Jo-Marie Aquino (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman).  In the second, the Lightning jumped out to a fast 9-0 start and rolled to the win. The third set wasn't much different, as Lehman raced out to a 14-1 lead and cruised to the victory.

Service was a key factor for Lehman, with John Jay unable to handle the punishing serves. Lehman had 21 service aces in the game, out of 75 total points. Six different players had service aces, led by Aquino, who had six, and freshman Imani Dubois (Bronx, N.Y./JP Taravella), who had five. Dubois added 17 assists, while junior Besa Zabelaj (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) had six kills, four service aces, and four digs.

Against Medgar Evers, Lehman took the first set, 25-20, then lost a tough, 25-18, second set. The Lightning rallied to claim the third, 25-13, before closing out the Cougars, 25-17.

Again, service was a major factor for Lehman, who had 19 aces. Leading the way was Zabelaj, who had six. The offense had good flow, with Dubois recording 21 assists. For the match, Lehman had 25 assists on 27 kills. Six different players had kills, led by Zabelaj and Aquino with seven and six, respectively. Senior Vanessa Brown (Bronx, N.Y./Lehman HS) continued her consistent play, with ten digs, four kills, and one total block.

Lehman will continue play on Tuesday, September 11, hosting City College at 6:00 p.m., and Sarah Lawrence at 8:00 p.m., in the Auxiliary Gym of the APEX.