Cazenovia, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Volleyball team opened the 2022 season in strong fashion on Friday night, posting a 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19 win over Cazenovia to open the Cazenovia Invitational.
Grace Riddle (Wantagh, N.Y.) finished off the victory with 11 kills, while
Krista Gross (East Northport, N.Y.) lifted 16 digs.
Friday's win pushes Mount Saint Mary to 1-0 on the season and moves to 3-0 against the Wildcats dating back to 2012, while Cazenovia dips to 0-2 on the young season.
First Set
- Mount Saint Mary got out to a 1-0 lead on Friday after putting away 11 kills and hitting .258 as a team in the opening stanza.
- Cazenovia used a five-point run to open a 15-10 lead and used a Mount Saint Mary miscue to maintain an 18-15 advantage.
- The Knights responded with four of the next five points, including an Erin Lema (Centereach, N.Y.) kill, to knot the score at 19-19.
- Following a service error that gave the Wildcats a 20-19 lead, the Knights ripped off the final five points of the set to grab the one set advantage.
- Mount Saint Mary received a pair of service aces from Fran Cammarata (Carmel, N.Y.) and a kill from Ava DiScala (Seaford, N.Y.) over the closing run.
Second Set
- Mount Saint Mary was limited to just seven winners and a -.069 attack percentage in the second frame as Cazenovia rallied to tie the match at 1-1.
- After falling behind 9-5 in the early going, Mount Saint Mary ran off five straight points, including another ace from Cammarata, to surge in front 10-9.
- Mount Saint Mary spread its lead to 14-11 and maintained the advantage until a three-point run from the hosts, capped by a Karissa Decosse ace, pushed them to a 20-19 lead.
- The Knights knotted the score at 20-20 on a Cammarata winner, but the Wildcats scored five of the final six points of the set, including kills from Michaela Meyer and Makylee Haviland, to even the match at a set apiece.
Third Set
- Each team recorded nine kills in the third frame, but the Mount was able to take advantage of four more attack errors from the Wildcats to take a 2-1 lead in the contest.
- The Mount ran off the first three points of the third set and after a Cazenovia 4-0 run, answered with four straight points of its own to take a 7-4 advantage.
- Mount Saint Mary found itself trailing by four points on two occasions in the late stages of the set, but used a 5-1 run highlighted by a pair of blocks from Mackenzie Warmoth (Wallingford, Conn.), to even the score at 21-21.
- Mount Saint Mary would trail 22-21 and 23-22, but a kill from Riddle and two Wildcat miscues gave the Mount the third set victory.
Fourth Set
- Mount Saint Mary was limited to just six kills in the fourth frame, but made just two attack errors to close out the match.
- The Knights used a 4-0 run, getting kill from Lema and two aces from Riddle, to grab an 8-6 lead in the early going of the set.
- The Mount would not trail again in the set after grabbing the early lead and used a three-point run keyed by two Cammarata aces to move in front 21-16.
- Cazenovia pulled to within 21-18, but an Emma Wetzel (Mahwah, N.J.) kill and a winner from Riddle aided a 4-1 closing run to give the Knights the season opening victory.
For The Knights
- Riddle led all players in the match with 11 kills and just missed a double-double with nine digs. She closed out a big match with three aces, three assists and a block.
- Lema put away seven kills in her collegiate debut, adding an ace and four digs.
- Cammarata rounded out the night with a match-high 23 assists, adding five kills, five digs and five service aces.
- Mary Milano (East Patchogue, N.Y.) closed the win with four kills, two digs and a pair of blocks.
- Gross lifted a match-high 16 digs for the Knights and finished with three service aces.
- Warmoth posted a pair of blocks and Sabrina Romano (Glen Cove, N.Y.) led the team with three blocks in the victory.
For The Wildcats
- Decosse led the team with nine kills and four aces, adding 11 digs.
- Taryn Anderson put away five kills to go along with seven digs, three aces and 11 assists.
- Aubriana Boyce led the team with 13 assists with Haviland totaling five kills and three blocks.
Match Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary finished the night with a 33-28 advantage in kills and hit .137 as a unit.
- The Knights controlled the net with a 7-3 edge in total team blocks.
- Cazenovia rounded out the night with a 53-45 advantage in digs.
- Aces went to the Mount 14-11.
What's Next
- Mount Saint Mary closes out the weekend with matches against Union (11:00 a.m.) and Elmira (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday.
- Cazenovia takes on Union and MCLA on Saturday.
