Riverdale, N.Y. – After jumping out to a 2-0 lead over visiting Farmingdale State, the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Volleyball team fell to the Rams in five sets by scores of 26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 17-25 and 11-15 on Saturday morning. The Dolphins would rebound in their second contest of the day and salvage a split after downing Old Westbury in straight sets by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-21.
 
The opener on Saturday was a back-and-forth affair throughout, with Mount Saint Vincent taking the first two sets by a total of seven points. Although Farmingdale State recorded 12 more kills in the first two frames, the Dolphins took advantage of 22 attack errors from the Rams to take the early two set lead.
 
Farmingdale State would rally to get back into the match in the third set after committing just five miscues. After Mount Saint Vincent took a 15-14 lead, Farmingdale State scored seven of the next eight points to take the lead for good in the set, keyed by six Dolphin errors.
 
In the fourth, Farmingdale State built an early 6-2 lead and was never threatened as it knotted the match at two sets apiece. A 6-0 spurt turned a three point lead into a nine point advantage, as the Rams scored 10 of the final 14 points of the frame.
 
Mount Saint Vincent regrouped in the fifth and quickly got in front 6-3 after kills from Ashleigh Scozzari (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Erika Moncada (Yonkers, N.Y.). The Dolphins would not fall behind in the set until another 6-0 Ram rally that brought them to a 14-10 lead. Sarah Pallandino closed the match with her 22^nd kill of the contest to seal the victory for Farmingdale State.
 
Pallandino led all players with 22 kills and also chipped in with 16 digs. Holly Sahner also had a big match with 21 winners and a team-high 18 digs. Megan Pisciotta handed out 54 assists for the Rams to go along with 13 digs.
 
Scozzari led the Mount with 11 kills in Saturday's opener and also totaled two blocks. Kristine DeMasi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished up with eight kills and a team-high 19 digs, while Zana Daluz (Pawtucket, R.I.) rounded out a double-double effort with 24 assists and 18 digs.
 
After dropping the five set heartbreaker early on Saturday, Mount Saint Vincent bounced back to take down Old Westbury to gain a split on the day. After a 9-0 Old Westbury run pushed it in front 12-5, the Dolphins chipped away until an 11-2 spurt gave them a 22-21 lead in the first set. Scozzari led the charge with four kills for the Mount over that stretch.
 
The Dolphins carried the momentum gained late in the first set into the second a jumped in front 7-2 after five straight Old Westbury miscues. The Dolphins would not allow the Panthers any closer then two points in the stanza and a 7-1 run to close put the Mount in front 2-0 for the second time of the day.
 
The Dolphins would find themselves down 5-2 in the deciding third set on Saturday, but went on to string together a 4-0 run on the strength of three Scozzari kills to jump in front 6-5 in the early going.
 
The two teams would play the middle of the set inside a three point window, until the Dolphins broke a 17-17 tie with four straight points. The Panthers would get back to within two points, but two Morganne Booker (East Providence, R.I.) kills as part of a 4-2 run to close the match secured the win for the Dolphins.
 
Scozzari closed out the day just one kill shy of her career mark with 15 and also totaled three blocks, raising her team-high total to 41. Booker also played a strong match for the Dolphins after putting away 14 kills and hitting .333. She also lifted eight digs and picked up a pair of blocks.
 
Daluz rounded out a strong match with her team leading sixth double-double of the year after handing out a match-high 32 assists and lifting a team-high 19 digs. Carly Jenkinson (Pacifica, Calif.) picked up 16 digs for the Dolphins and recorded three service aces.
 
Overall in the Old Westbury match, Mount Saint Vincent recorded 10 more kills then the Panthers and twice as many service aces after posting 10. It marked the eighth time this season the Mount has posted double-figures in aces.
 
With the split on Saturday, Mount Saint Vincent moves to 8-9 overall on the season and to 3-4 in Skyline Conference action. The Dolphins will look to get back to .500 on Tuesday when they travel to CCNY. The non-conference tilt with the Beavers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.