Newburgh, N.Y. – Coming off of its fifth appearance in the Skyline Conference Championship match in the last six seasons, the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team will open the 2016 slate on Friday afternoon at Scranton as part of the Scranton Invitational. The Knights, picked second in the Skyline Preseason Poll, will play four matches over two days at the season opening event.
 
At A Glance: The Knights finished the 2015 season with a 17-19 overall record and an impressive 8-2 mark within the Skyline Conference. The Mount topped Maritime and second seeded Sage in the conference championship tournament, before falling to top seed Mount Saint Vincent in a hard fought four set decision.
 
Mount Saint Mary graduated a pair of All-Skyline Conference selections in Jen Gries and Kayla Kurka, but return 10 players from last season's roster. Gries, who set the all-time record in digs in 2015, was named a First Team All-Conference selection a season ago, while Kurka landed on the Second Team for the Knights.
 
Head Coach Mike Strano returns to the sidelines for his 14^th season and will look to guide the Knights to their second ever Skyline Conference Championship. Strano picked up his 200^th win in 2015.
 
Outside Hitter: Mount Saint Mary brings back a trio of talented players at Outside Hitter and add a pair of newcomers to the mix in 2016. Senior Rachel Sabatini (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) is back as the team's top returner in a pair of categories after registering 204 kills and 207 digs. Sabatini also is second among returning players in service aces, posting 36 as a junior.
 
Classmate Angelia Cirigliano (Newburgh, N.Y.) returns after finishing off 131 kills in 2015, adding 14 total blocks and Jackie Survilla (West Islip, N.Y.), who will also see time at Right Side, is back after totaling 13 service aces as a sophomore.
 
Looking to make an impact out of the gate for the Knights in 2016 are newcomers Ally Klesin (Glendale, N.Y.) and Madelyn Barberan (Fishkill, N.Y.).
 
Right Side: Junior Megan Williams (Glenmont, N.Y.) returns after an impressive sophomore season for the Mount in 2015. She led the team in total blocks with 66 and was third on the team in kills with 141. Williams registered a career-high 12 kills and hit .333 in the regular season tilt against Sage.
 
Senior Claire Scully (Bloomfield, N.J.) is back with the Knights after a year away in 2015. She appeared in 120 sets in 2014 and was second on the squad with 68 service aces.
 
Newcomer Emily Mazzurco (Middletown, N.Y.) adds depth at the position for the Knights as a newcomer in 2016.
 
Setter: The Knights return a trio of setters in senior Kristen Maddock (Patchogue, N.Y.) and sophomores Kim Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Courtney Blum (Belle Harbor, N.Y.). Gries, who picked up a Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week award last season, led the team with 517 assists, adding 19 aces and 146 defensive digs.
 
Maddock handed out 444 helpers as a junior in 2015 and led the team with 69 service aces. Maddock also chipped in with 137 digs and paced the team in assist average with just shy of five per set.
 
Blum appeared in seven sets as a freshman and handed out 24 assists and lifted nine digs.
 
Middle Blocker: Mount Saint Mary will feature a pair of middle blockers in 2016 in sophomore Nicole Spinelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) and newcomer Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.).
 
Spinelli finished the 2015 season appearing in 27 matches for the Knights and registering 76 kills, 40 digs and 12 total blocks.
 
Libero/Defensive Specialist: The Knights will be tasked with replacing Jen Gries, 2015 First Team All-Conference selection and all-time digs leader in 2016. Junior Chelsea Barberan returns off a 2015 season that saw her appear in 25 matches and lift 64 digs. As a freshman in 2014, Barberan was named Second Team All-Skyline Conference after lifting 450 digs and averaging 4.55 per set.
 
Classmate Julimar Figueroa (Dorado, Puerto Rico) returns to the roster after appearing in 20 matches and lifting 55 digs in 2014, while sophomore Lauren LeGere (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), who will see time at outside hitter, is back for her second season after posting 20 digs in 13 matches as a rookie.
 
Schedule: The Knights will be busy in the early going of the 2016 season and will not play a home match until Bard comes to the Kaplan Center on September 14. Following the Scranton Invitational, the Knights will play four matches at the New Paltz Invitational September 9-10 and three more at the Ramapo Roadrunner September 16-17.