Purchase, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team opened the Skyline Conference schedule in convincing fashion on Wednesday with a 25-8, 25-12, 25-21 road win at Purchase. Junior Danielle Kralik (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) led the offensive attack with nine kills for the Knights.
 
After falling behind 3-2 in the early going on Wednesday, the Mount used a 9-1 run to pull in front 11-4 in the opening frame. Freshman Grace Riddle (Wantagh, N.Y.) keyed the run with a kill and an ace and the Mount took advantage of six Purchase errors to surge in front.
 
The Knights opened the middle stanza on Wednesday with a 9-2 run sparked by two kills each from Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.). After the Panther climbed to within 9-6, the Knights scored 11 of the next 12 points to pull in front 20-7. A pair of Shannon Grogan (Levittown, N.Y.) winners accounted for two of the Mount's final three points in the set as it opened a 2-0 lead.
 
After opening an 11-8 lead in the final frame, the Knights saw Purchase get to within 18-16. A four point Mount Saint Mary run spread the lead back to 22-16 before a Riddle kill finished off the Mount's first conference win of the season.
 
Kralik led all players in the match with nine kills on Wednesday and finished the night hitting .227. She finished off a strong night with two aces and four digs for the Knights.
 
Burke and Riddle both posted five kills on the night for the Mount, with Riddle adding five aces and three digs. Burke totaled two blocks for the Mount and lifted a dig in the victory.
 
Freshman Fran Cammarata (Carmel, N.Y.) finished with a match-high 19 assists for Mount Saint Mary and chipped in an ace and six digs, while Alyssa Barbara (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) recorded five digs and added three of the team's 14 service aces.
Purchase was led by three kills from Gia Gwin, while Skyla Schoppmeyer led all players with 11 digs. Esmee Johns closed the night with eight assists and seven digs for the Panthers.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the night with the advantage in kills 27-10, service aces 14-3 and total team blocks 2-1. The Knights hit .195 as a team while holding Purchase to a -.127 attack percentage.
 
Wednesday's win moves Mount Saint Mary to 4-6 overall on the season and to 1-0 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Knights is a trip to Bard on Saturday for a non-conference tri-match with the Raptors and Hartwick. First serve with the hosts is set for 11:00 a.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. contest with Hartwick.