New York, New York - The BMCC women's volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Fashion Institute of Technology at BMCC Gymnasium on Thursday night. The loss ended the Panther's game-winning streak, dropping them to 4-2 (2-2 Region XV), while the Tigers improved to 4-1 (3-0 Region XV).

Freshman Jaylynn Mateo (Brooklyn, New York) led the Panthers on offense with a team-high five kills, while classmate Kavana Liburd (Queens, New York) dished out a team-best nine assists.

Freshman Ishinay Lennon (Bronx, New York) led BMCC on defense with a career and game-high 12 digs. Sophomore Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) handed nine digs, while freshman Bianca Zwerlein (Brooklyn, New York) registered a career-best eight digs in the contest.

FIT scored the first six points of the opening set and never looked back, building an 11-1 lead, with six of those points coming on service aces en route to a 25-11 first-set victory.
 
The Panthers responded in the second set using a 5-0 run capped off by a Lennon kill to erase an early 3-0 deficit. However, the Tigers would take control the rest of the way in set two, using a 9-0 run to build a 12-5 advantage and rolling to a 25-14 victory.

BMCC gave their all in a competitive third set that featured ten ties. The Panthers registered six of the first nine points, grabbing a 6-3 lead thanks to a kill from Jazmyn Pridgen (New York, New York). After FIT tied it at six on an ace from Dionysia Mei Kourouklis, the Panthers recorded two of the following three points, going in front 7-6 on an Aurel kill and extending that advantage to two, 9-7 on a service ace from Pridgen then two Mary-Margaret Griff kills helped FIT tie it at nine. After four lead changes and ties made it 14, the Tigers would take control the rest of the way to take the match using a 7-1 run to build the advantage to six, 21-15, and coast to a 25-17 victory in the third set.

Caitlyn Schildhouse spearheaded the Fashion Institute of Technology's offensive effort, posting a double-double with a game-high 12 kills and team-best tied 10 digs. Schildhouse also hit a game-high .346 (12K-3E-26TA), while Lydia Tung handed out a game-high 24 assists. The Tigers were strong from the service line with 21 service aces, with a game-high six coming from Dionysia Mei Kourouklis, while Rosa DiTaranto and Gabrielle Buencochil added five apiece. Mei Kourouklis also tied for team-best with 10 digs on defense for the Tigers.

The Panthers will look to discover their winning ways as they head to Brooklyn on Saturday, September 29, for a Region 15 double dual against Kingsborough Community College and Queensborough Community College at noon and 2 p.m. at Kingsborough. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.

Notables
- Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) is the program's all-time leader with 463 career digs and moved into 10th all-time in program history with a career-high six-block effort on Saturday against UCC. Aurel also ranks 11th all-time in career kills with 181 and 14th and 15th in school history with 70 career service aces and 143 career assists.
- Freshman Kavana Liburd (Queens, New York) leads the Panthers with 130 assists, which is also 16th all-time in school history.


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