Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—The Gryphons won two sets of their first match but were unable to come away with a victory, as Sarah Lawrence College women's volleyball was defeated by host College of Staten Island, 3-2, and William Paterson University, 3-0, in a pair of non-conference matches at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center on Saturday.

IN SHORT
Staten Island (6-10) def. Sarah Lawrence, 3-2.
15-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10.

William Paterson (13-9) def. Sarah Lawrence (12-9), 3-0.
25-11, 25-5, 25-12.

AGAINST STATEN ISLAND
Sarah Lawrence overcame an early 6-1 deficit to take an 11-7 lead in the first set. The Dolphins narrowed the gap to one point, 12-11, but a late charge by the Gryphons opened up a 25-15 SLC victory to start the match. The Green and White led the second set by three points before a 10-1 rally by CSI led to a 10-point Dolphins advantage. Sarah Lawrence narrowed the gap to four points, yet Staten Island won the set, 25-20, to tie the match at one set apiece.

Staten Island led the third set, 14-8, before the Gryphons retaliated to go in front, 17-15. Rookie Ellen Vild (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) helped Sarah Lawrence close out the set with two kills in the last three points, giving the Gryphons a 25-21 win and a 2-1 edge in the match. After a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, Sarah Lawrence held a three-point margin at 18-15. Staten Island stormed back to take an insurmountable 24-19 advantage and forced the fifth set with a 25-21 win. In the decisive set, the Dolphins' momentum carried the hosts to a 10-4 lead, and though the Gryphons rebounded to within one point, 11-10, Staten Island closed out the five set win. The defeat marks the program's first back-to-back five-set losses since 2009.

Vild led the Gryphons with 12 kills, rounding out a double-double with 11 digs on defense. Libero Lauren Kilroy (King of Prussia, Pa./Country Day Sch. of the Sacred Heart) became the program's first player to record 30 digs in a match, breaking the previous record of 23 set in 2012; she also had seven aces in the match. Setter CJ Kelley (Las Vegas, Nev./Basic) posted a double-double with seven kills, 24 assists and 17 digs. Senior Yolanda Lyne Cando (Arlington, Va./H-B Woodlawn) helped the offense with six kills, while classmate Clarisse Taboy (Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia/George School) had 22 digs on defense. First year Kayla Zaffrullah (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast) reached double figures with 11 digs.

AGAINST WILLIAM PATERSON
The Pioneers controlled the match start-to-finish, landing 34 kills in the match. For the Gryphons, senior Monet Thibou (Brooklyn, N.Y./Elisabeth Irwin) had five kills, finishing the day with nine total. Cando had four kills in the match, while Taboy led the squad with 17 digs. Kelley contributed 13 assists, and Kilroy added nine digs.

NOTABLE GRYPHONS
Helen Song (Shenzhen, China/Shenzhen Foreign Language) finished the day with four kills over the two matches. Lin Zhu (Chengdu, China/Chengdu No. 7) had seven kills in the tri-match.

UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence rounds out its home slate with back-to-back matches. On Friday, the Gryphons host Cooper Union at 7 p.m. Sarah Lawrence plays its final home matches of the season in a Skyline tri-match on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.