BRONX, N.Y. - The Lehman College women's volleyball team fell in the home opener to William Paterson University, 3-0, in the APEX Main Gym, on Thursday evening. Set scores were 25-22, 25-9, and 25-20.

In the first set, the Lightning (2-5) and Pioneers (1-0) engaged in a seesaw affair that featured six ties and four lead changes. After falling behind 6-3, Lehman rallied for an 8-2 run, highlighted by a kill from  senior middle blocker Cari English (Yonkers, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman), that put Lehman up by two. Senior outside hitter Julia Mercado (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) recorded a solo block to give Lehman its largest lead of the set, 14-9.

After William Paterson rallied to pull within two, senior outside hitter Maria Richiez-Paredes (Bronx, N.Y./Notre Dame School) fed the ball to sophomore middle blocker Salveira Gonzalez (Bronx, N.Y./Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy) who tallied a kill to extend Lehman's lead to 16-13. With the score tied at 18, junior setter Imani Dubois (West Palm Beach, Fla./J.P. Taravella) slammed home a kill to give Lehman a narrow 19-18 advantage.

However, the Pioneers responded by scoring seven of the next ten points to claim the first set, 25-22.

After dropping the second set, Lehman fell behind, 19-11, in the third. The Lightning would not go down without a fight as the home team went on an 8-3 run, capped off by blocks from English and freshman outside hitter Lindsay Pantaleon (New York, N.Y./George Washington), to narrow Lehman's disadvantage to 22-19.

In the end, Lehman's rally was not enough as William Paterson was able to hang on to win the set, 25-20, which clinched the match.

For the Lightning, Mercado led the way in defense with 20 digs, while Richiez-Paredes produced 11. On the attacking side, Gonzalez recorded 10 total points and had nine kills. English registered seven kills with a hitting percentage of .304.

The Lightning will hit the road on Tuesday, September 9, for a non-conference clash with St. Joseph's College of Long Island. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.