Kings Point, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball squad took to the road for a Skyline Conference contest at preseason favorite USMMA on Tuesday evening and suffered an 18-25, 15-25, 15-25 loss to the Mariners. Freshman Grace Riddle (Wantagh, N.Y.) continued the strong start to her career with eight kills for the Mount.
 
After the Mariners opened a 6-1 lead in the opening frame, the Mount stormed back with five straight points, keyed by kills from Riddle and Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.), to even the score at 6-6. The Mount would never be able to pull in front in the set and after a 3-1 spurt capped by a Riddle kill brought the Knights to within 19-18, the Mariners ripped off the final six points of the set to open a 1-0 lead.
 
USMMA got off to a quick start again in set two, opening a 6-2 advantage following a Paige Smith winner. The Knights evened the score at 9-9 following three straight USMMA miscues, but the Mariners answered with 10-2 run to open a 19-11 lead. The Mariners gained the two set advantage with six of the final eight points in the set, including a Cadee Fromm winner to end the middle stanza.
 
Mount Saint Mary held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 early in the third set, its first advantages of the night, but the Knights would score consecutive points in the set just twice. USMMA used five three-point scoring runs in the set to build a 23-13 lead before a Smith kill and Mount miscue ended the match in straight sets.
 
Riddle rounded out the night for the Mount with eight kills in 26 attempts, concluding the night with a pair of service aces, five digs and a block. Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.) produced four kills for the Knights in 12 swings.
 
Hydo recorded a strong night for the Mount with five kills, hitting .286, to go along with a team-high 11 digs and a service ace. Emily Mazzurco (Middletown, N.Y.) handed out a team-high 10 assists with Alyssa Barbara (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) closing the night with seven digs for the Mount.
 
Smith led USMMA with 14 winners on Tuesday, hitting .276 in 29 attempts. Taylor Gilbertson added 12 winners for the Mariners and a match-high four service aces, while Kyleigh Kappas led all players with 29 assists. Nicole Ibinson equaled Hydo with a match-high 11 digs.
 
USMMA finished the night with a 39-20 advantage in kills and controlled the service game with a 10-3 edge in aces. Total team blocks in the match were even at 2-2.
 
Tuesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 7-10 overall on the season and to 2-2 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Knights is a trip to Schenectady, N.Y. for a non-conference tri-match at Union on Saturday afternoon.