Riverdale, N.Y. – Behind a match-high 18 kills from junior
Ashleigh Scozzari (New Rochelle, N.Y.) the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Volleyball team posted a 25-19, 34-32, 25-14 victory over fifth seeded Farmingdale State in the opening round of the Skyline Conference Tournament on Wednesday night. The win advances the Dolphins to the semifinal round for the first time in program history.
After taking a 1-0 lead after the opening set in which the Dolphins put away eight kills and held the visitors to a -.071 hitting percentage, the two sides played a second set that featured 15 ties and six lead changes. After the Mount took a 24-21 lead on a Farmingdale State attack error, the Rams rallied with the next three points, including two service aces from Sarah Palladino, to tie the score at 24-24.
The two teams would trade the next six points until the Rams took a one point lead on a kill from Maia Cadle-Hinton. The Mount rallied with the next two points before falling behind 32-31 on a Palladino kill. Trailing by a point, Mount Saint Vincent ripped off the next three tallies keyed by a kill and a service ace from Scozzari to take a commanding two set advantage.
Mount Saint Vincent totaled 17 kills and hit .238 in the marathon second set, receiving 12 winners from Scozzari. She hit .588 in the frame for the Mount to go along with an ace, two digs and a block.
The Dolphins put the match away in the third after jumping out to a 16-10 lead. A five point run that built the lead was sparked by a service ace from Scozzari, a kill from
Ana Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and three Farmingdale State attack errors.
After a Mount Saint Vincent service error brought the Rams to within 18-12, the Dolphins closed out the match with a 7-2 spurt to pick up their 14
th win of the season.
Zana Daluz (Pawtucket, R.I.) picked up a pair of winners in the closing run and Scozzari closed out the match with her 18
th winner of the night.
Mount Saint Vincent recorded one fewer kill then did the Rams in the third frame, but the visitors committed 12 attack errors to just three for the Dolphins. Scozzari picked up four more kills in the third and
Jennifer Roman (Queens Village, N.Y.) added two service aces.
Scozzari rounded out the match with a .438 attack percentage and totaled double-figures in kills for the 18
th time this season and for the 11
th time in the last 12 outings. She finished the night with two aces, six digs and a pair of blocks for the Mount.
Sophomore
Maria Leineweber (Waimanalo, Hawaii) put away seven kills for Mount Saint Vincent and hit .353 to go along with two digs and a block. Daluz, Rodriguez and
Erika Moncada (Yonkers, N.Y.) all finished the night with a pair of kills, with Daluz leading the team with four block assists.
Freshman
Nicole Henderson (Bergenfield, N.J.) led all players with 26 assists and joined
Kristine Javier (Fair Lawn, N.J.) with a team-high seven digs. Roman finished up with a pair of aces and six digs in the win for the Dolphins.
Farmingdale State received nine kills each from Palladino and Cadle-Hinton and a match-high 13 digs from Francesca Calderon. Megan Pisciotta handed out 22 assists and lifted nine digs for the Rams.
Overall in the match, Mount Saint Vincent finished with a 33-29 advantage in kills while hitting .207 as a team. The Dolphins finished with eight service aces and held a 6-3 edge in total team blocks.
The win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 14-15 overall and sets up a date with the top-seeded Gators from Sage on Friday. Match time at Purchase College for the semifinal contest is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Match Notes: Wednesday's win is the Mount's first win in program history in the Skyline Conference Tournament…The Dolphins are 1-5 all-time in the conference tournament…Mount Saint Vincent moves to 5-8 against Farmingdale State since the start of the 2004 season and to 1-1 against the Rams in the Skyline Conference Tournament.
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