NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University women's volleyball team suffered a hard-fought loss to Lehman College, 3-1, at ARC Arena on Monday evening. Set scores were 25-13, 16-25, 25-23, and 25-19.

The Maccabees (1-15) had a strong match defensively with 99 digs as a team.

It was a career night for YU rookie sensation Shany Elmaleh, who led all players with 30 digs. The North Hollywood native also added six kills and a service ace

Junior Zoey Botnick had a personal-best 23 digs, while producing seven assists, scoring two aces, and slamming home a kill. Classmate Aleesa Elbaum produced a career-best 22 digs, while junior Ashley Botnick generated 18 digs, four kills, and an assist. Senior Devorah Batt produced eight kills, the most in her collegiate career.

In the opening set, Batt rattled off three consecutive kills to give YU a 12-9 edge. Lehman (6-15) turned the tide by scoring 16 of the set's final 17 points to win the stanza and go up 1-0 in the match.

The Maccabees got off to a quick start in the second set as a kill and service ace from Elmaleh, as well as a kill from senior Emily Zrihen, propelled the Blue and White to a 16-4 hold. The Macs did not allow the Lightning to sustain a long run like they did in the first set, as Yeshiva went on to win the second game to even the match at one set apiece.

YU got off to another strong start in the third frame as a kill by Ashley Botnick sparked the Macs to an 8-5 lead. The Lightning then scored the next four points to grab the advantage. Later in the set, Lehman extended its benefit to 23-20, thanks to a kill by senior Andrea Alarcon. Yeshiva would not go down without a fight, as Elmaleh scored a kill to spark two straight points by the Maccabees to narrow the opposition's lead to 23-22. Lehman recovered and scored two of the set's final three points to take a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set.

The Maccabees surged to a 4-0 lead in the fourth game. The Lightning eventually chipped away, and then later went on a mini 3-1 run, to grab a 17-14 benefit. Junior Tali Miller motivated YU with a kill, and then Zoey Botnick capped off three straight YU points with a service ace to even the set, 17-17. From that point on, the Lightning took over with a 5-0 run to go up by a score of 22-17. Batt temporarily stopped the opposition's momentum with a kill, but Lehman closed out the set with a 3-1 run to win the hard-fought match.

For the Maccabees, Miller had a kill, a team-high 13 assists, and four digs. Zrihen added three kills, two service aces, and a block.

For the Lightning, sophomore Lizbeth Paris had a team-high 24 digs. Classmate Selena Mitchell tallied a double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs. Senior Heder Rodriguez produced 32 assists, 13 digs, and six service aces.

Yeshiva will host York College (N.Y.) at ARC Arena on Thursday evening. First serve is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. It is Senior Night and Yeshiva University will be honoring its graduating seniors Batt, Zrihen, Miller, Sara Chemel, Gabrielle Kupferman, and Daniella Rothman with a ceremony prior to the start of the match.