The Background

• Final Score: College of Mount Saint Vincent 3, Farmingdale State 2. 
• Records: College of Mount Saint Vincent (12-16, 7-4 Skyline), Farmingdale State (9-23, 6-5 Skyline)
• Where: Peter Jay Sharp, Riverdale, New York. 

How It Happened 

The first set was neck and neck up until about the halfway mark. The teams were trading points but once it got to 10-9, Farmingdale strung together back to back huge runs and went up 18-11 and cruised the rest of the way to a 25-16 first set victory. The lone bright spot in the first set was an early 4-0 run headlined by high school teammates Tara Maloney and Samantha Schroeder, who each had two kills during the run.

The following two sets were almost identical to the first one, with both ending with the same result of 25-19. Both sets started off with teams trading points until the midway mark. In the second set, a kill from our freshmen setter Madison Gale followed by an ace by junior star Maloney started the run that separated CMSV from Farmingdale. After the Dolphins' 25-19 second set victory, it seemed they were back in the swing of things with sets now tied 1-1. Farmingdale put an end to this and silenced the loud and proud CMSV faithful with a 25-19 set three victory.

But they could not keep the fans silenced for long. The Dolphins came out firing on all cylinders in set number four and re-energized the crowd. CMSV, who was facing elimination at this point, turned to Maloney, who served for eight consecutive points to extend the lead from 10-4 to 18-4. The Dolphins went on to win the set by an impressive 25-6 score. Not only did Maloney, who had three aces, serve well for the Dolphins, but she also registered six kills in the fourth set. Maloney was not the only stand-out in the fourth set as the freshmen trio of Schroeder, Alexandra Madden and Rianna Rivera were relentless on the attack, giving Farmingdale no chance.

The​​​​​​​ fifth and final set was an absolute nail biter which saw six ties and six lead changes in a set to 15 points. The Dolphins trailed 11-9 and, yet again, with their backs against the wall, turned it on. CMSV scored six unanswered points, all of which were scored by freshmen. Gale had two services aces, Madden added a kill and Schroeder had a huge block and ended the match with her 11th kill of the game to close out the first round win. 

What's Next?

CMSV has now advanced to the Skyline Conference semifinals. The team will be taking on the number one seed United States Merchant Marine Academy in a re-match of last year's championship on November 1. The Dolphins will be out for revenge are and looking to fulfill their dreams of getting back to the conference championship.