NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Currently playing through one of the toughest early-season schedules in program history, the Mount Saint Mary College women's volleyball team fell to 0-7 on the young 2015 campaign on Friday after dropping its first two matches of the SUNY New Paltz Hawks Invitational at the Hawk Center. The Knights dropped their opening match to Stockton University, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-22), before falling in Friday's finale to Fredonia State University, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-12).
Early on in the match with Stockton, the Knights played tight with the Ospreys, trailing just 15-13 midway through the opening set. The Ospreys then went on a 10-5 run to close out the game with a 25-18 win.
Stockton (6-1) ran out to a big lead early on in the second frame, ultimately coming away with a 25-12 victory to go up, 2-0. Despite trailing by seven points during the third set, the Knights fought their way back to tie at 22-22. The Ospreys found their stride one last time in the match, cutting off the Knight rally and taking the final three points to clinch the match.
Junior outside hitter
Elizabeth Lavin (Hicksville, N.Y.) and freshman middle blocker
Jennifer Hanley (Sayville, N.Y.) matched for a team-high seven kills in Friday's opener. Lavin impressively hit .600 in the match. Junior setter
Kristen Maddock (Medford, N.Y.) helped out with 14 assists.
Stockton's Stephanie Kovacs led all scorers with 15 kills. Shannon Clark dished out a match-high 18 assists, while Rebecka Zabilowicz picked up 12 digs.
The Knights picked up the first three points of Friday's finale against Fredonia (7-0). The Blue Devils then turned things around, scoring eight of the next nine points to take an 8-4 advantage. Much of the set went back and forth, but the Blue Devils managed to hold of the Knights late in the frame to take a 25-19 win.
After the second set was tied up, 4-4, Fredonia went on a 13-3 run to take a 17-7 lead. The lead grew to as many as 14 points, and the Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-12 victory.
The third stanza started off much like the second, but the Blue Devils turned on the heat late in the game, scoring 10 of the final 13 points for another 25-12 conquest and the match sweep.
Junior outside hitter
Rachel Sabatini (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) threw down a team-best six kills in Friday's closer. Senior libero
Jennifer Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) scooped up a match-leading 19 digs in the loss.
Jess DiChristopher led Fredonia with 10 kills, while Megan Collins hit .875 with seven kills. Kelly Edinger led all players with 21 assists.
Facing another tough pair of opponents, the Knights will take on tournament host SUNY New Paltz to open up Saturday's portion of the event at 11 a.m. They will then close out their weekend with a 1 p.m. match against New York University.
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