Wayne, N.J. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team continued the 2018 season on Saturday with a split of two non-conference matches at William Paterson. Senior
Alex Klesin (Glenwood, N.Y.) put away a career-high 17 kills in a 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 20-25, 15-13 five set win against the College of Staten Island and added 14 more winners in an 18-25, 19-25, 25-27 loss to the host Pioneers.
Mount Saint Mary 3 – Staten Island 2
The Knights produced their third highest kill total of the season against the Dolphins, putting away 53 winners and hitting .151 as a team. The Mount put away 35 kills over the final three sets and held Staten Island under .100 hitting in three stanzas. The Dolphins hit .146 as a unit in the match.
Klesin had a big match for the Knights, besting her previous career-high by three winners. She hit .212 in 52 swings and closed a strong all-around match with eight digs.
Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.) added 12 winners to the winning effort, adding a team-high four service aces.
Senior
Kim Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) handed out 40 assists, adding three kills, four digs and a service ace.
Jenny Picarillo (Troy, N.Y) lifted nine digs to lead the Mount, with
Klaire Wall (Point Pleasant, N.J.) totaling eight digs and three aces.
Nicole Spinelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) led the Knights with three total blocks in the match to go along with six kills with
Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.) and
Alyssa Barbara (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) each finishing up with a pair of service aces.
Staten Island was led by 15 winners and a .375 attack percentage from Margaret O'Malley-Rebovich who also contributed three service aces. Francesca Castellano led all players with 24 digs in the contest with Ariana Spears handing out 36 assists. Celina Mendez finished the contest with four aces and 11 digs.
Overall, Mount Saint Mary finished the tilt with a 53-44 advantage in kills and posted a slim 13-11 edge in service aces. The blocking battle went to the Dolphins 7-5.
William Paterson 3 – Mount Saint Mary 0
The Mount improved its attack percentage to .190 in the second match of the day, but saw William Paterson hit .274 as a team. The Pioneers hit at least .250 in each set, while the Mount hit a high of .217 in the third frame, recording 16 kills.
Klesin closed out a strong day with 14 more kills for the Mount and hit .225 in 40 attempts to go along with four digs. Sophomore
Danielle Kralik (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) finished one kill shy of her career mark with 12 winners, closing out a double-double effort with 11 digs.
Burke supported the offensive attack with eight kills for the Knights and hit .318 with
Emily Mazzurco (Middletown, N.Y.) putting away five winners.
Wall finished the contest with a team-high 18 digs and added an ace, while Gries reached the 40 assist mark for the fifth time this season with 41 helpers and a team-high two service aces. Klesin and Spinelli picked up the only blocks for the Knights in the tilt.
The Pioneers were paced by 11 kills and a.478 attack percentage from Alyson Toman with Amanda Lembo adding 10 winners and eight digs. Christine Griffith lifted a team-high 17 digs, while Kendall Caruso led the way with 27 assists.
Mount Saint Mary finished the match with a 43-38 advantage in kills. The Pioneers finished with a slim 9-6 edge in service aces, but dominated the blocking game 10-1.
Saturday's split moves Mount Saint Mary to 13-12 overall on the season. Next up for the Knights is a home non-conference match with Bard on Tuesday. First serve with the Raptors is set for 7:00 p.m.
