ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women's volleyball team needed a victory this afternoon to keep its hopes alive for a seventh consecutive berth in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, but visiting Bentley College came through with a 15-10 triumph in the deciding fifth set to upend the Golden Knights 3-2 (26-24, 11-25, 22-25, 25-23, 10-15) at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.

Freshman outside hitter Marilyn Glamack wound up with a match-high 15 kills for Saint Rose (13-12/6-8), which dropped its sixth five-set match of the year. Glamack also added 17 digs. Junior right side hitter Jaclyn Griffin and sophomore outside hitter Rachel Baxter contributed 11 kills apiece, while junior libero Mary German led all players with 20 digs.

Additionally, freshman setter Theresa Staulo passed out 42 assists and hit .333 with four kills in nine attempts with only one error.

The Falcons (20-10/12-2 NE-10), who wrapped up the third-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, received 13 kills apiece from junior outside hitter Alex Kearney and sophomore outside hitter Morgan O'Laughlin. Senior setter Tori Piskulick and junior libero Cassie Kraft led the defense with 18 and 15 digs respectively.

The Golden Knights entered the day in a four-way tie for the eighth and final spot in the league tournament. Saint Rose generated a 16-12 advantage in the first set on back-to-back kills by Baxter and Griffin. Bentley managed to claw its way back and forge a 24-24 tie. However, freshman middle hitter Chelsea Tyler served up an ace and the Golden Knights took advantage of an attack error by the Falcons to take a 1-0 lead behind a 26-24 victory.

The Falcons raced out to a 16-4 edge in the second set and never looked back after hitting .310 with 11 kills in 29 total attempts with only two errors. Conversely, Saint Rose managed only four kills and committed seven errors in 25 attempts.

The third set saw Bentley take a five point, 19-14, margin that forced a Golden Knights' timeout. Saint Rose then ran off five straight points that made it 19-19. An ace by Piskulick, kills by freshman outside hitter Virginia Wong and sophomore middle blocker Alaura Berry and two attack errors by the Golden Knights afforded the Falcons a 25-22 win.

The fourth set had a similar feel to the third, however, Saint Rose was able to close it out 25-23 behind five kills from Glamack and sophomore middle hitter Kelly Ryan.

Bentley never trailed in the deciding fifth set, hitting .400 with seven kills en route to the 15-10 win.

The Falcons will await their opponent in the aforementioned NE-10 tournament that will begin next Friday at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. The Golden Knights will miss postseason play for the first time in seven years with a 13-12 overall mark and a 6-8 league slate. 

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