Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team opened Skyline Conference play on Tuesday night with an 18-25, 19-25, 25-19, 19-25 loss to defending league champion Farmingdale State. Junior setter Kim Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) rounded out the night with her second double-double of the season.
 
After combining for only 11 kills over the first two sets on Tuesday, the Mount put away 14 winners and hit nearly .300 as a unit in their third set win. The Knights broke the match open with a 5-0 run that pushed them in front 21-15 on kills from Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Madelyn Barberan (Fishkill, N.Y.), a Hydo service ace and a pair of Farmingdale State miscues.
 
Barberan led the offensive attack in the third frame with four kills with Hydo adding three winners and a service ace. Megan Williams (Glenmont, N.Y.) rounded out a strong set with three kills and three total blocks for the Knights.
 
Farmingdale State rallied in the fourth set and ran out to a 17-7 lead following a 6-0 run. Julia Hande led the charge with a pair of kills for the Rams.
 
The Rams built their lead to a commanding 24-11 before the Knights mounted a comeback in an attempt to square the match. After falling behind by 13, the Knights ripped off eight straight points to pull to within 24-19. Hydo posted five aces over the run, but a service error with the Mount trailing by five to finish off the match.
 
Barberan and Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.) led the team with six kills each with Barberan adding 12 digs and Burke recording three total blocks. Williams finished the night with five winners for the Mount and three blocks.
 
Gries led the team with 27 assists and was one of three players to record double-figures in digs with 11. She added a pair of total blocks on the night for Mount Saint Mary.
 
Senior Julimar Figueroa (Dorado, Puerto Rico) led the team with 16 digs and added three service aces, while Hydo rounded out the match with four kills, three digs and a career-high six service aces.
 
Farmingdale State received 11 kills each from Hande and Maia Cadle-Hinton who hit .389 on the night. Cadle-Hinton finished with six total blocks in the match, while Hande led all players with 19 digs. LaurenAnne Strezenec posted a match-high 31 assists for the Rams.
 
The visitors finished the night with a 40-31 advantage in kills and doubled up the Mount in total team blocks 12-6. Mount Saint Mary closed the match with a 14-8 advantage in service aces.
 
Tuesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 3-14 overall on the season and to 0-1 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Knights is a non-conference road match at New Jersey City University on Thursday. Match time with the Gothic Knights is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.