Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. – Led by a season-high 16 kills from senior Kayla Kurka (Islip, N.Y.) and five service aces from Jennifer Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.), the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team scored a 25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20 non-conference road win at Bard on Wednesday night.
 
After putting away 15 kills and hitting .344 in the opening set on Wednesday, the Knights found themselves even with the Raptors after two sets after hitting -.030 in the second frame. Bard hit .292 in the second set and scored the final three points of the set to pull away from Mount Saint Mary.
 
The Knights rebounded in the third set after not committing an attack error. Kurka put away four kills for the Mount and hit .333 as the Knights moved in front 2-1.
 
Mount Saint Mary put the match away after hitting .333 in the fourth frame, putting away 17 kills and committing just five miscues. Kurka hit .667 for the Knights in the final set, with six kills, while Maribeth Powers (Yorktown, N.Y.) put down three kills in five attempts for the Knights.
 
Kurka reached double-figures in kills for the third time this season and hit .406 in the contest for the Knights. She closed out a solid all-around night with a service ace, a block assist and a pair of defensive digs.
 
Rachel Sabatini (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) put away nine winners for the Knight in the victory and lifted five digs, while Nicole Spinelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) registered five kills and two digs.
 
Gries led Mount Saint Mary with five of the team's 12 service aces and added 16 digs, equaling the match-high. Kristen Maddock (Medford, N.Y.) finished the night with four aces and 17 assists and Kaitlyn O'Brien (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished the night with 13 digs.
 
Freshman Kimberly Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) led the team with 24 assists in the contest, while Megan Williams (Glenmont, N.Y.) paced the Mount with three block assists.
 
Bard was paced by 16 kills from Sofia Koukia who rounded out a double-double effort with 16 digs. Victoria Chou led all players in the match with 27 assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary closed the night with a 49-37 advantage in kills and a 12-4 edge in service aces. The Knights also posted a slim 4-3 edge in total team blocks on the night.
 
With Wednesday's win, Mount Saint Mary improves to 8-16 overall on the season. Next up for the Knights is a pair of home Skyline Conference matches on Saturday. The Knights will take on Purchase at 11:00 a.m. and Sage at 3:00 p.m.

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