Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team played the opening match of the New Paltz Hawks Invitational on Friday evening, dropping an 18-25, 20-25, 24-26 decision to the hosts.
Grace Riddle (Wantagh, N.Y.) led the Knights with seven kills and joined
Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.) with a team-high 10 digs.
Friday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary back to the .500 mark at 2-2 overall, while the win improves the Hawks' record to 1-5 on the year. The win for New Paltz gives it nine straight victories over the Knights dating back to the 2008 campaign.
First Set
- Mount Saint Mary struggled out of the gate, recording just three kills and hitting -.167 in the opening frame.
- New Paltz used a 6-1 run to break a 7-7 tie and open a 13-8 advantage. Mackenzie Williams posted a pair of kills over the stretch.
- The Knights responded with the next six points to take a 14-13 lead, keyed by four New Paltz miscues, an ace from Jackie Wolf (Kings Park, N.Y.) and a Riddle kill.
- New Paltz answered with the next nine points and 12 of the final 16 points of the set to open a 1-0 lead. Makenzie Bills and Katie Steele posted back-to-back winners for the Hawks to end the set.
Second Set
- Mount Saint Mary racked up 11 kills in the middle frame, but saw New Paltz hit .278 and collect 15 winners.
- The Hawks raced out to a 14-4 lead and led 18-8 before the Knights used a 10-3 spurt to pull to within 21-18. Danielle Guarasci (Plainview, N.Y.) keyed a 7-0 stretch over the run with a pair of kills.
- The Knights would never get closer than three points down the stretch and saw New Paltz score three of the final four points to build a two set advantage. Williams put away a pair of winners over the final three points for the Hawks.
Third Set
- Although the Knights only recorded five kills in the final frame, they built a 17-11 lead after five straight aces from Wolf sparked a six -point run.
- New Paltz used four straight points to close to within 19-16 and after a Riddle kill gave the Knights a 21-18 lead, the Hawks ripped off four straight points to claim a 22-21 lead.
- The Mount took advantage of two errors to pull back in front 23-22, but a 4-1 run from New Paltz, supported by kills from Cate DiGiacomo and Ceci Brooks, gave the Hawks the straight set victory.
For The Knights
- Riddle finished with a team-high seven kills and added three service aces and 10 digs.
- Wolf rounded out the match with a career-high eight service aces, adding four kills and seven digs.
- Guarasci and Hydo each posted a trio of winners, with Hydo adding 10 digs.
- Fran Cammarata (Carmel, N.Y.) finished up with 15 assists and four digs.
- Alyssa Barbara (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) lifted nine digs for the Mount.
For The Hawks
- New Paltz was led by seven kills apiece from Bills and Williams with Bills adding three blocks and Williams lifting nine digs.
- DiGiacomo led all players with 24 assists and added six digs.
- Mia Waddell led all players in the match with 13 digs.
Match Statistics
- New Paltz finished with a 36-19 advantage in kills and hit .140 as a team against a .000 attack percentage for the Knights.
- Total team blocks and digs went to the Hawks 5-1 and 58-41, respectively.
- Mount Saint Mary held an 11-6 edge in service aces.
What's Next
- The Knights round out the three-match tournament with non-conference outings against Sage (1:00 p.m.) and Alfred (3:00 p.m.).
