Box Score

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – In one of the tightest matches of the Skyline Conference season, the Mount Saint Mary College women's volleyball team (17-20, 6-3 Skyline) was defeated by top-seeded Sage Colleges (17-16, 9-0 Skyline), 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25), on Saturday in the Skyline Conference Championship semifinals, eliminating the Knights from the tournament. Sage advances to the finals, which will be held as part of Saturday's Skyline Fall Festival at 4 p.m.

Neither team was able to win a set by more than three points in Saturday's semifinal. Sage held a 24-20 lead in the opening set before the Knights rallied to tie at 24, which included a pair of service aces by freshman setter Claire Scully (Bloomfield, N.J.). However, Sage recollected itself during a timeout and took the set with the final two points.

The Knights were down big again in the second set, this time by a score of 15-10. They then won six of the next seven points to tie at 16-16. After some back and forth play, the Knights took three of the last four points to tie the match at one set apiece.

Neither team was able to gain a large advantage in the third frame, as the scored was knotted up at 21-21 late in the game. Sage rallied for the four-of-five points to take the set and a 2-1 edge.

The Gators looked poised to run away with the fourth set, leading by four or five points for much of the game. Down 21-15, the Knights were able to eventually tie the set at 23-23. The top-seeded Gators proved to be too strong and took the last two points to advance into the conference finals.

Sage's Michayla Berard led the match Gators with 15 kills, while Helen Putriment, the 2013 Skyline Women's Volleyball Player of the Year, followed with 14 kills and a team-high .250 hitting percentage. Putriment also picked up a match-high 30 digs. Rachel Liebig dished out an impressive 44 assists.

Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Kurka (Islip, N.Y.) threw down a match-best 16 kills with a .270 hitting percentage. Scully passed out 41 assists for the Knights. Sophomore libero Jen Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) picked up 24 digs to lead the team.

The Knights picked up 16 services aces in the match to just four for the Gators. Sage hit at a .169 clip, while the Mount hit .108.

The Knights finish the season with a 17-20 overall record. They reached the semifinals after defeating the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday in straight sets.