Newburgh, N.Y. - Leading 12-5 and 14-11 in the fifth and deciding game, the Mount Saint Mary College women's volleyball team couldn't close the door on what would have been a spectacular victory, eventually losing to Misericordia University, three games to two. A back and forth contest for the entire evening, Misericordia snuck away with the victory after digging out of the two fifth game holes to win, 17-15.

It looked like it would be a quick night after the first game. The Cougars came out of the gates on fire, winning the opening frame by a score of 30-17. As the people in attendance would soon find out, the match would be anything but quick. The Blue Knights fought back in game two, cleaning up their play en route to a 33-31 victory.

Misericordia stole the momentum right back at the start of game three, jumping out to a 13-3 lead. The Cougars would cruise the rest of the way, ultimately winning the game, 30-14. Again, it looked like the match was all but over. But the Mount responded for the second time, taking the fourth game, 30-23.

In the deciding game, the Mount continued their solid play from game four and held an 8-2 lead as the teams switched ends. After six consecutive side-outs, the Blue Knights finally earned a point on their serve to go up 12-5. Following a side-out, the Cougars rallied with three service points to cut the deficit to 12-9. Eventually, the Mount earned three match points with a side-out at 13-11. The Cougars wouldn't go away, rallying to 14-14 before losing their serve. After the Blue Knights lost a fourth match point, the Cougars put it away with two straight points on their serve to make it 17-15.

Junior Amanda Carfora (Wallkill, N.Y.) was the go-to player for the Blue Knights, and it seemed like she was hitting on virtually every play in the deciding game. She finished the night with 22 kills against a very strong defensive team, and also had 14 digs of her own. Senior Ashley Barnhart (Kingston, N.Y.) was a solid option for the Mount all night as well, finishing with 13 kills and 19 digs. Senior Katie Goodrich (Binghamton, N.Y.) had 24 digs.

Despite losing the match, it may be just the thing to get the Blue Knights on track. Mount Saint Mary sits at 5-10 overall but are well positioned in the Skyline Conference standings. Up next is a road trip to St. Mary's in Maryland for a weekend tournament. Misericordia improved to 8-6 overall.