Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Lehman College women's volleyball team split their two matches at the CUNY Athletic Conference Multi-Match, hosted by the College of Staten Island, on Monday afternoon. Lehman dropped the first match to Hunter in straight sets, but would go on to earn a thrilling come-from-behind victory over York, 3-2.

In the opening match against Hunter, senior middle blocker Cari English (Yonkers, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) led the offense for the Lightning with seven kills. Classmate Julia Mercado (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) anchored Lehman's defense with a team-high 15 digs.

In the second match against York, the Lightning (9-10, 5-2 CUNYAC) came out of the gate sluggish by dropping the first set, 25-15. In the second, Lehman's offense started to click as English tallied six kills, while Mercado added four, to lead Lehman to a convincing 25-12 victory, and even the match at one.

In the third set, Lehman started off strong, highlighted by Mercado's service ace that gave Lehman its largest lead of the set, 19-14. English tallied another kill to give the Lightning a 21-17 advantage. The Cardinals (4-18, 1-4 CUNYAC) responded by scoring the next four points to tie the set at 21. After Lehman scored to regain a narrow lead, York went on a 4-1 run to clinch the third set, 25-23, and put Lehman on the brink.

In set number four, Lehman was put in a 19-13 disadvantage. The Lightning answered by scoring nine of the next 12 points, highlighted by a kill from freshman outside hitter Lindsay Pantaleon (New York, N.Y./George Washington) that tied the match at 22. After York regained the lead, 23-22, Mercado slammed home back-to-back kills to put Lehman in front, 24-23. An attack error by York clinched the fourth set victory for Lehman and forced a rubber set.

Lehman's momentum at the end of the fourth set carried through to the fifth as the Lightning scored nine of the first 10 points. After York narrowed the score to 11-5, English tallied back-to-back kills to extend Lehman's lead. Freshman outside hitter Chaochi Lee (Queens, N.Y./Flushing) scored a service ace to make it match-point. Pantaleon's third kill of the match clinched Lehman's fifth conference victory of the year.

Against York, English tallied a double-double with a match-high 18 kills and added 16 digs, scoring 21 points. Mercado also had a double-double with 14 kills and produced 16 digs of her own. Freshman defensive specialist Lizette Medina (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) also helped out on defense with 13 digs and had a team-high three service aces. Junior setter Imani Dubois (West Palm Beach, Fla./J.P. Taravella) had 29 assists while sophomore defensive specialist Jona Kerluku (Ozone Park, N.Y./CTEA) recorded a service ace. Freshman outside hitter Monique Young (Bronx, N.Y./Harry S. Truman) chipped in with a kill, an assist, and three digs.

The Lightning will have a non-conference road match against Old Westbury, on Wednesday evening. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.