Danbury, Conn. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team returned to action on Saturday and split a pair non-conference matches at Western Connecticut. The Knights scored a 25-14, 25-12, 25-20 victory over Nichols before falling in a 19-25, 19-25, 21-25 decision to the host Colonials.
 
Mount Saint Mary 3 – Nichols 0
The Knights recorded 13 more kills in the win over Nichols on Saturday and dominated the service game with eight more aces than the Bison. Mount Saint Mary hit .162 in the contest and held Nichols to a -.104 attack percentage.
 
Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.) continued her strong junior season in the win, putting away a match-high 11 kills and hitting a blistering .611. Burke rounded out a strong all-around match with three service aces and pair of blocks.
 
Catherine Cerbino (Highland, N.Y.) put away a career-high seven winners for the Knights and hit an efficient .385 in 13 attempts, while Madelyn Barberan (Fishkill, N.Y.) finished off a strong match with five kills and lifted a team-high 18 digs.
 
Senior Kim Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) handed out 11 assists to lead the Mount, with Alyssa Barbara (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) handing out nine helpers and totaling three service aces. Nicole Spinelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) recorded four kills in the win and finished with a block.
 
Nichols was led by four kills each from Jayleen Fegan and Sabrina Boermeester with Fegan pacing the Bison with 11 digs. Megan Gardner led all players in the match with 12 assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the day with a 24-11 advantage in kills and a 3-1 edge in total team blocks. The Knights controlled the service game with a 12-4 advantage in aces.
 
Western Connecticut 3 – Mount Saint Mary 0
The Knights hit .138 in the second match of the day, but saw Western Connecticut hit .263 as a unit while recording 17 more kills and six more service aces.
 
Barberan and Alex Klesin (Glendale, N.Y.) led the offensive attack for the Knights with nine kills apiece, with Barberan lifting a team-high in digs with nine. Klesin finished off the match with a dig and a pair of blocks for the Knights.
 
Spinelli led the Mount with three total blocks, adding a pair of kills. Burke and Emily Mazzurco (Middletown, N.Y.) each recorded two blocks for the Mount and combined for five kills against the Colonials.
 
Gries handed out 21 assists to lead the Knights and posted one of the team's two service aces to go along with five digs. Jenny Picarillo (Troy, N.Y.) chipped in with eight digs for the Knights and added a service ace.
 
Kamari King led Western Connecticut's offensive charge with a match-high 16 kills with Jenna Pisano recording a match-high 13 digs. Jenna Skerritt led all players with 35 assists and added a match-high four service aces.
 
For the match, Western Connecticut finished with a 43-26 advantage in kills and an 8-2 edge in service aces. The Knights closed the match with a 6-2 advantage in total team blocks.
 
Following Saturday's split the Knights stand at 10-11 overall on the season. Next up for the Mount is a home Skyline Conference date with Maritime on Tuesday. Match tie with the Privateers is set for 7:00 p.m.