The Marlboro Dukes went up two sets on the New Paltz Huguenots.

It almost seemed like the Huguenots had the Dukes right where they wanted them, as they came back from two sets down to force the decisive fifth set, as they handed the Dukes a 3-2 loss in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League Division II volleyball match on Sept. 17 at Marlboro High School.

“We’ve had back-to-back really hard games,” Marlboro coach Emily Beck said. “Spackenkill last night was the same thing. We had a 2 - lead and they’re tired. I get it. We’ve got a young, but I wouldn’t say inexperienced team, but we don’t have the depth that a lot of other teams have. Not yet. We’re getting there, and it’s something we’re working on.”

The same thing happened the previous day as the Dukes took a 2-0 lead over the Spackenkill Spartans with 25-12, 25-23 wins in the first two sets. They dropped the next two, 15-25, 21-25 before rebounding in the fifth set to win 15-10.

Sadie Casella had 41 digs, Giana Natale had 31 assists and nine digs, while Giana Fiore had 12 digs and 21 kills. Emma Jackson had 11 digs, nine kills and two blocks. Emily Hite had eight kills and four digs.

Then it was back on the court 24 hours later to face the Huguenots.

“I think they came in today with a good mindset,” Beck said. “I always tell them to look to the future. Once something happens, one point happens, you have to let it go. We can’t change it. It already happened. It’s already written in the scorebook. It’s on the scorebook. So, we took that win last night, and of course they were tired.”

The New Paltz match opened with a back-and-forth opening set that saw the Dukes pull out a 25-23 victory. They had an easier time on their way to a 25-15 win in the second set.
Things fell apart in the third set as they fell behind 5-0 to start and dropped the third set, 25-17.

The Dukes had built a three-point lead in the fourth, but New Paltz battled back to tie, and the two teams went back and forth until The Dukes retook a 2-point lead and a had a match point.

However, a kill by New Paltz’s Anna Maiale prolonged the set. Then an ace by Lila DiScuillo tied things at 24. The set was tied three more times until the Huguenots pulled out a 29-27 lead, forcing the decisive fifth set.

The Dukes took a 3-0 lead to start the fifth and New Paltz battled back to tie things at seven. The Huguenots broke a 7-7 tie and never trailed again.

“Going five sets is hard and playing the same seven to eight girls is rough,” Beck said. “I think it could have had an effect on them toward the end there.”

Maiale finished with 20 kills and nine digs for the Huguenots. Talia Telmont had 29 assists, and six digs and Marley Morris had seven kills.

“New Paltz is a great team,” Beck said.

“They’ve got a lot of talent. I’m just blown away by how coach Joe (McGinty) handles both teams, and the capacity that has to do that is awesome.”

Casella led Marlboro with 35 digs, and Jackson had 1 dig, six kills and three blocks.

Katie Mohl had five digs and five kills.

“I’m never going to knock our girls. They give everything they’ve got. Going 2-0, and then 0-3 is never a good feeling, but I think we just have to dig deep and really focus on making smart, clean sets and smart passes, and just really cleaning up our end.”
The Dukes were off for a week before they hosted the Red Hook Raiders on Tuesday.

“We have not caught a break yet and the girls are tired,” Beck said. “I think when we do catch that break, we will be good. We have the rest of this week and we’re just looking forward to next week.”