Coach Skylar Kellam Earns First Career Win at Mount

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON – The Mount Saint Mary College women’s volleyball team split matches Saturday, earning their first win of the season and Skylar Kellam’s first win as head coach of the Knights.

Match 1
Score: Mount Saint Mary College 3, FDU-Florham 2

Match 2
Score: Mount Saint Mary College 0, Bard 3

Mount Saint Mary was still chasing its first win of the season entering their tri-match with FDU-Florham and Bard College. Their first match was against the Blue Devils of Florham.

The winless Knights came out like a team possessed in the first set. Going down 10-4 early it looked like we would be seeing the onset of a Florham first-set win. The Knights would have none of that as a Julianna Simone kill sparked Mount Saint Mary to bring it within three points. The Blue Devils were still keeping their distance on the scoreboard going up 18-12 at one point. The Mount rallied back to tie the set at 20 with an Ava DiScala kill.

Down 23- 24 on match point, Jonaiya Williams eviscerated back-to-back kills to start her career day as Brooke Lavelle finished off the set with a kill of her own to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Mount Saint Mary fell down early again in the second set 3-6, but went on an 8-2 run to secure an 11-8 lead. Florham took back the lead moments later until assists from both Jaylyn Knight and Sofia Fredericks tied the set up 16-16. This would be the last we would see the Mount score this set as 9 straight unanswered points uplifted the Blue Devils tying the match 1-1.

The Knights started off the third set well with two kills from Erin Lema to give them a 6-4 lead. Mount Saint Mary controlled the lead for a majority of the first half of the set until a 5-0 run gave Florham the advantage. The Knights attempted to bounce back late, but just like the previous set, the Blue Devils scored six unanswered to go up 2-1.

It looked like Mount Saint Mary was running out of juice entering the fourth set, with FDU taking a 7-4 lead. The Knights responded with a service streak from Julianna Simone that included an ace to take the lead 9-7. The Blue Devils fought back, but the Mount fought even harder. A couple of Erin Lema aces gave the Knights a six-point cushion as Florham tried to make their way back into the set. Mount Saint Mary closed out the fourth set on a 5-1 run to force a fifth and final set.

This was the first time this season the Knights played a fifth set this season. With the game on the line, the Mount stepped up big. On a day of career-highs from numerous players, Jaylyn Knight secured two straight aces to give them a 5-2 lead. The Knights went ahead and never looked back as a Sofia Fredericks ace followed by an FDU attacking error gave Mount Saint Mary the fifth set and the match to earn their first win of the season.

The Knights had expended a lot of energy in their last match and now had to play back-to-back against the host Bard College. They came out confidently, going up 10-4 in the first half of the set. Three straight points including a Brooke Lavelle kill from Allie Kenney extended their lead to seven. Kills from Julianna Simone gave the Knights an 18-10 lead as they looked to close out the first set. Bard had other plans though as a 15-2 run allowed them to swipe the first set from right under Mount Saint Mary and take a 1-0 lead.

The Mount did not let the previous set faze them, as a 7-2 run gave the Knights a 10-7 lead in the early parts of the second set. Fatigue would start to kick in for Mount Saint Mary. Bard scored 11 unanswered during their 17-1 run. The Knights attempted to mount a comeback, but it was already too late, and they fell 25-16 in set two.

Set number three would be the last chance for Mount Saint Mary to extend the match. They continued to find success in the early goings of sets as Jonaiya Williams gave them a 9-7 lead with a kill assisted by Aubriana Boyce. Just like the previous sets though Bard caught fire, going on an 8-0 run to take a 16-9 lead. After this, the Mount couldn’t seem to catch their footing as Bard eventually won the third and final set 25-14.