OAKDALE, N.Y. – The Caldwell College volleyball team suffered a narrow loss to NYIT in five sets in the first match of two at Dowling College Friday afternoon. The Cougars, who are 3-3, face host Dowling in the second match.

Caldwell won the first and third sets, 25-18 and 25-22, with the Bears (1-0) taking the second and fourth sets by the same score of 25-22. In the decisive fifth set, the Cougars led 9-7 before NYIT took control of the game by scoring six of the next eight points for a 13-11 advantage. After a Bears' attack error made the score 13-12, a kill by Kate Brock and an ace from Becky Syers gave NYIT a 15-12 win.

Senior outside hitter Susan McDonough (Saline, MI/Saline) tallied a team-best 11 kills, while junior right side Kate Blankerts (Sylvania, OH/Southview) registered 10 kills and a .474 hitting percentage. Sophomore Athena Nestoras (Los Angeles, CA/St. Monica) and junior Lisa Roth (Gilbert, AZ/Williams Field) dished out 23 and 19 assists respectively. On the defensive side of the net, sophomore Jaclyn Del Cid (Bogota, NJ/Bogota) had 21 digs and McDonough added 18 digs.

CC (2) – 25 22 25 22 12
NYIT (3) – 18 25 22 24 15