NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University women's volleyball team battled Lehman College, in a non-conference match at Max Stern Athletic Center, on Thursday evening. The Maccabees fell just short in five hard-fought sets to the Lightning. Set scores were 25-27, 27-25, 25-23, 23-25, and 15-11.

The Maccabees won the opening set, but Lehman claimed the next two. The Macs were able to tie it up at two games apiece before the visiting team won the rubber set to clinch the match victory.

Leading the way for Yeshiva was sophomore Zoey Botnick who slammed home five kills, produced five digs, helped with seven assists, and scored five service aces. Junior Emily Zrihen scored five kills, while first-year player Aleesa Elbaum led all players with 20 digs to go along with a pair of assists and a service ace. Junior Tali Miller had a team-high eight assists, recorded just as many digs, tallied three kills, and provided three aces.

In the opening set, the Maccabees scored five straight points, capped off by a kill from rookie Daniella Rothman, to take a 15-9 advantage. Later in the stanza, Lehman went on a 9-1 run to go up 20-18. The Maccabees answered by scoring four of the next five points to jump back in front, 22-21. After Lehman reclaimed the lead, 23-22, YU took advantage of a pair of errors from the opposing team to earn a set-point opportunity. However, Lehman scored the next two points to not only retake the lead but earn a set-point opportunity of its own. Yeshiva persevered by scoring three points in a row, capped off by a kill from Rothman, to earn the come-from-behind victory in set one, 27-25.

The second set was another thriller. After falling behind, 22-19, Yeshiva scored three straight points to even it up at 22 points apiece. Both teams split the next six points to make the score 25-25. This time it was Lehman that finished strong as back-to-back kills by junior Andrea Alarcon gave the Lightning a narrow 27-25 win to even the match at a game apiece.

With the third set tied, 19-19, Lehman scored three straight points to take control. However, a 3-1 run by YU, highlighted by a kill from Zrihen, narrowed the Lightning's advantage to 23-22. After each team added a point, Lehman scored for the 25^th time in the frame to win the stanza by two and force Yeshiva into a 2-1 hole.

In the fourth game, back-to-back kills by Rothman and a kill by Miller highlighted a 5-0 run that gave YU a 12-8 benefit. The Lightning closed the gap, and then scored five unanswered points to take the lead, 18-15. With their backs against the wall, the Maccabees persevered by scoring six of the next seven points to reclaim the advantage, 21-19. After each team tallied a point, sophomore Ashley Botnick scored back-to-back services aces to earn the Macs a set-point opportunity at 24-20. Lehman made it interesting by scoring the next three points to pull to within one, but YU was able to make the final play it needed to close out the set, 25-23, and even the match at two games apiece.

In the rubber game, the Lightning built a 12-8 benefit. The Maccabees would not go down quietly as Zoey Botnick and junior Devorah Batt combined for back-to-back kills, and then Elbaum nailed an ace, to shrink YU's deficit to 12-11. However, Lehman scored the final three points, capped off by a kill from senior Doribel Duran Ubiera, to clinch the fifth set and the match.

For the Maccabees, Ashley Botnick generated three kills, nine digs, three aces, and a pair of assists. Batt provided two kills and eight digs. Rothman produced four kills, a solo block, and a dig.

For the Lightning, Alarcon had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, while scoring four service aces and providing three assists.

The Yeshiva University women's volleyball team will return to the court in September.