Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Volleyball team opened the 2015 season on Saturday with a 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 win over Albertus Magnus before falling 19-25, 22-25, 21-25 to Southern Vermont. Senior James DiGiovanni (Bay Shore, N.Y.) totaled 62 assists over the two matches, while classmate Brett Holiday (Stratford, N.J.) recorded 11 total blocks for the Dolphins.
 
After dropping the first set to the visiting Falcons in Saturday's opener, the Dolphins responded to hit .290 in the second set to even the match at 1-1. Mount Saint Vincent totaled 22 kills over the final two sets and took advantage of 13 Albertus Magnus attack errors to earn its first win of the season.
 
Freshman Michael Kochen (Holbrook, N.Y.) led the Mount with 13 kills in his collegiate debut, adding seven digs and three service aces to the winning effort. He led three Mount Saint Vincent players in double-figures in kills, with freshman Marc Barreda (Bay Shore, N.Y.) recording 12 winners and five digs and Holiday putting away 10 kills and totaled four blocks.
 
Sophomore T.J. Barczik (Lake Grove, N.Y.) lifted a match-high 20 digs for Mount Saint Vincent with Logan Dickover (Las Vegas, Nev.) posting 10 digs and eight kills. Neven Skoblar (San Pedro, Calif.) led the Dolphins with five total blocks against the Falcons and DiGiovanni finished with a match-high 37 assists to go along with to go along with seven digs.
 
Overall in the match, Mount Saint Vincent held a 50-26 advantage in kills and hit .111 as a team. The Dolphins also held a 7-3 edge in service aces and a 9-7 advantage in total team blocks.
 
In Saturday's second match, the Dolphins dropped a hard fought decision to Southern Vermont who moved to a perfect 2-0 on the season after downing York earlier on Saturday. The Mountaineers hit .267 as a team in the match, including an efficient .323 in the opening stanza.
 
Holiday led the Dolphins in the loss with seven kills and led all players in the match with seven total blocks, including three solos. Barreda and Kochen each recorded six kills. In the match. Barreda closed the match with a pair of total blocks and Kochen lifted a pair of digs.
 
Dickover rounded out the match with a team-high seven digs and added two total blocks and Michael Barfield (Farmingville, N.Y.) finished with two of the team's three service aces. DiGiovanni handed out 25 assists against the Mountaineers and posted seven digs.
 
Southern Vermont was led by 13 kills each from Scott Fitzgerald and Joey Dighton and Herson Carrera led all players with 32 assists. Tino Escovedo closed the contest with a match-high 10 digs.
 
For the match, Southern Vermont held a 41-27 advantage in kills, while the Dolphins took a 9-3 edge in total blocks. Service aces in the contest were even at 3-3.
 
Following Saturday's results, Mount Saint Vincent stands at 1-1 overall on the season. Next up for the Dolphins is a non-conference home match against Medgar Evers on January 27. Match time with the Cougars is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.