Mount Bested in Final Matches of Hawk Invitational

NEW PALTZ – The Mount Saint Mary College women’s volleyball team lost their last two matches of the Hawk Invitational to round out the tournament Saturday.

Match 1
Score: Mount Saint Mary College 0, Union 3
Records: Mount Saint Mary College (0-6, 0-0 Skyline) | Union (3-2, 0-0)

Match 2
Score: Mount Saint Mary College 0, Russell Sage 3
Records: Mount Saint Mary College (0-7, 0-0 Skyline) | Russell Sage (4-2, 0-0)

In their second match of the Hawk Invitational, the Knights battled with a tough opponent in Union College. To open up the first set, Jonaiya Williams showed her dominance with back-to-back kills to tie the set 5-5. The Chargers tried to slip away but kills from Julianna Simone and Erin Lema put a stop to a potential Union run. Some crucial mistakes from the Knights sparked eight unanswered points from the Chargers as they were able to top Mount Saint Mary in the first set 25-12.

Set two did not start off great for the Knights. Union would take a 12-2 lead thanks to some errors from Mount Saint Mary. Isabella Montemagno followed up an Ava DiScala kill with a service ace, but it would be too late to start any sort of run. The Chargers closed out the second set 25-8.

Union carried their momentum over to the third set as the Knights couldn’t seem to gain their footing. By the time they did, Mount Saint Mary was already down 16-2. The Knights did show some fight at the end of the set, going on a 7-1 run that included three Julianna Simone Kills to make the score 17-9. The Mount seemed to have run out of gas as Union would go on an 8-1 run of their own to finish the third and final set 25-10 Chargers.

Coming off their loss to Union, the Knights struggled off the bat against Russell Sage as the Gators took a 15-2 lead in the first set. Jonaiya Williams looked to create a little momentum as a kill from her led the Knights to a 9-3 run, bringing the score to 18-11.

Mount Saint Mary did a much better job in the second half of the set, outscoring the Gators 12-10, though the would end up losing the first set 25-15.

Aubriana Boyce started the second set with three aces during her service streak to give the Knights a 7-2 lead. Russell Sage was able to bounce back with a run of their own to take the lead 13-11. Mount Saint Mary seemed to be teetering on the ropes as the Gators extended their lead to 17-12, but the Knights kept their balance in one of their better-played sets of the season. With Russell Sage on the brink of going up 2-0, Jonaiya Williams notched two kills in a row to bring the score to 24-23. The Knights were just edged out as a Gator kill ended the second set 25-23.

Mount Saint Mary looked to get something going in the third set as Sofia Fredericks was able to lead the Knights on a small run, with a couple of assists and an ace, to give them a 9-5 lead. The Gators would eventually tie the set up as both squads fought for some breathing room. A 9-2 run for Russell Sage gave them a 23-15 lead and a good chance to close out the match. The Knights attempted a comeback with three straight points, but the Gators got what they needed to win the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.