Volleyball Struck Down by MSMC Knights in Skyline Semifinal, 3-2

Purchase, N.Y. – After dominating the first two sets in the Skyline Conference Tournament semifinal round, the No. 2 seed St. Joseph's College (19-11) women's volleyball team lost the next three sets to No. 3 Mount Saint Mary College (20-16), as the Knights rallied back to defeat the defending champion Golden Eagles.  The 3-2 (18-25, 7-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-11) loss on Friday evening at Purchase College ended St. Joseph's season and sends the Knights to the Skyline Championship game where they will face No. 1 Sage on day two of the Skyline Conference Fall Festival.

With two commanding victories in the first two sets, the Golden Eagles looked bound for a quick sweep.  However, the Knights found their game in the third set, taking a 13-11 lead before really getting into a rhythm. They forced the Golden Eagles to take a timeout when they went up, 18-15, and another when they upped the lead to 21-15. MSMC finished off the set with four of the last six points to take a 25-17 win and keep their hopes alive.

The Knights quickly took the lead in the fourth set, forcing SJC to call its first timeout looking at a 5-2 deficit.  They continued to hold onto the lead, causing another Golden Eagle timeout at 17-13. MSMC closed out the set strong to take a 25-15 win and force a fifth and final set.

The Golden Eagles regained their composure to take an 8-5 lead before switching sides of the court in the fifth set. After the Knights grabbed a point, setter Kristen Maddock served up four straight service aces to put MSMC, 10-8. The Golden Eagles got two back to tie the set at 10-10, but the Knights got the next three to go up 13-10 and put the crowd into an uproar. The Golden Eagles hushed the crowd by getting a point back, but the Knights picked up the final two to spark the celebration as they completed their impressive comeback.

SJC's Skyline Player of the Year Heather Ferchland had a match-high 16 kills and hit an impressive .520 on the night. First Team All-Skyliner Julianne Tierney dished out a match-best 30 assists, and second team member Courtney Wickline registered 15 digs.

(Recap Details Courtesy of MSMC Sports Information)