Newburgh, N.Y. – Clinging to the final berth into the 2022 Skyline Conference Championship, the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team looks to improve its conference standing this week with its final two regular season matches. The Knights travel to Maritime on Tuesday night before hosting the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Thursday in the regular season finale. Live Stats and Video will be available for both matches.
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary begins the final week of the regular season with a 10-13 overall record and a 5-4 mark in Skyline Conference play. The Knights suffered a four-set loss on the road at Old Westbury on Sunday and sit one half game above the Panthers in the league standings and one half game below both Sarah Lawrence and St. Joseph's-L.I. The Knights hold the head-to-head tie breaker with the Gryphons by virtue of a 3-0 victory on October 11.
Grace Riddle (Wantagh, N.Y.) continues to lead the Knights on both sides of the court, holding the team lead in kills with 297, service aces with 42 and digs with 226. Riddle is averaging just shy of four kills per set and just over three digs per frame while chipping in 15 total blocks. Riddle begins the final week of the season atop the conference leaderboard in total kills and kills per set.
Fran Cammarata (Carmel, N.Y.) leads the team with 529 assists, good for nearly seven helpers per set, and has also produced 42 kills, 30 service aces, 165 digs and 12 total blocks heading into Tuesday's tilt at the Privateers. Cammarata finds herself ranked third in the Skyline Conference in both total assists and assists per set.
Freshman
Erin Lema (Centereach, N.Y.) has put together a steady rookie campaign for the Knights, ranking second on the team with 118 kills and 33 service aces. Lema chips in 132 digs for the Knights and seven blocks.
Sabrina Romano (Glen Cove, N.Y.) leads the way for the Mount in blocks with 22 on the season and contributes 62 kills and 10 service aces.
Brooke Lavelle (Staten Island, N.Y.) is second on the team with 19 total blocks, adding 37 kills.
Scouting Maritime: The Privateers enter Tuesday's contest with an 2-16 overall record and a 1-8 mark against conference opponents. Maritime has dropped its last 14 decisions and is in search of its first win since a sweep of Medgar Evers on September 22.
Maritime features a pair of players with better than 100 kills on the season, led by 155 from Celyna Custodio who also paces the team with 10 total blocks. Erica Pagano supports the offense with 105 winners for the Privateers.
Brooke Kirchner leads the way with 330 assists, good for 5.59 per set, and 35 service aces, while Victoria Cordero has lifted a team-high 179 digs, averaging better than three per set.
Recent History: Since the start of the 2007 season, Mount Saint Mary holds a 17-0 record in the series with Maritime and has dropped just three sets over that stretch.
A Look At USMMA: The Mariners enter a Tuesday home match with Purchase sporting a 12-6 overall record and an 8-1 mark in league play, sitting in a three-way tie for first place atop the Skyline standings. The Mariners have won four straight matches overall, including a five-set victory over Hunter on October 20.
Paige Smith leads USMMA in three categories to begin the week, holding team-highs in kills with 230, service aces with 25 and digs with 243. Brittany Breland and Meredith Buchanan support the offensive attack with 182 and 155 kills, respectively.
Claire Hyun has handed out 608 assists to date, averaging 9.07 per set, ranking second in the Skyline Conference in both categories. Amy Jones controls the net for the Mariners with 31 total blocks with Skyler Burnham helping to anchor the backline with 241 digs.
Recent History: Since 2011, USMMA has won five of the previous six meeting in the series. The Knights' win came in a 3-0 home victory on September 20, 2011.
What's Next: The Skyline Conference Championship begins with the First Round on November 1 with seeds, matchups and sites announced at the completion of the regular season.
