BOX SCORE Kings Point, N.Y. - Hunter College women's volleyball came back from trailing two sets to one to defeat the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday night in a close five sets.

The Hawks improved to 18-3 overall this season with the victory.

Despite jumping out to a 6-2 lead at the beginning of the first set, the Mariners tied it at 12 and then took a two point advantage. Hunter went on a run to lead 20-17, but USMMA did not go away quietly, tying the score once again at 25. The Hawks managed to capitalize on two Mariner errors to take the first set in dramatic fashion, 27-25.

The second set was another close one as both teams struggled to maintain a decent lead. With the score tied, 22-22, Hunter's Julia Connolly recorded a kill to give Hunter the upper hand, but USMMA took the last three points to win, 25-22 and tie the match.

The Purple and Gold stayed in control for the beginning of the third set until the Mariners rallied for five-straight points to give them a 14-11 edge. Hunter got back into it to make the score 24-24, but once again the Mariners took the final points to win the third, 26-24. 

Karina Young and Connolly registered kills in the opening points of the fourth set to set the tone as the Hawks took a lead. Up by four points, Taylor Haiduk tallied three kills in a four-point span to help make the score 23-15. Haiduk got another kill and Emily Wasson put the finishing touches on the set with a kill of her own as Hunter won, 25-18 to send it into a fifth set. 

Things did not start ideally for the Hawks in the fifth as USMMA took a 4-1 advantage and then scored three-straight to make the score 7-2. This did not stop the Hawks who forced several Mariner errors, including two blocks from Kendra Moore, to tie the set at 7. 

USMMA took another lead, but Moore and Wasson had two kills each in the next five points, contributing to the Hawk's 13-10 edge. The Mariners did not slow down in response, tying the set 14-14, but Hunter finished them off with a kill from Connolly and a service ace from Sunghee Cho to win, 16-14 and take the match, 3-2. 

Connolly recorded a season-high 18 kills, while Haiduk and Wasson each tallied 13 in the win. Moore had one of her of best games of the season, notching seven kills and a team-high eight blocks. Miranda Hogan had a season high 48 assists and added two service aces. 

The Hawks worked hard defensively by totaling 90 digs to USMMA's 82 and recording five players with double-digit digs. Libero Haley Trunkett paced the Hunter defense with 34 digs (to tie a career high) as Haiduk followed with 15, Connolly posted 12 and Cho and Hogan collected 10 each. 

The team returns to the court on October 14 for a tri-match featuring New Paltz and Bard College.