ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women's volleyball team got off to a hot start with a 25-14 opening set triumph, but visiting Pace University showed its resolve by winning the next three to take a 3-1 (25-14, 15-25, 17-25, 17-25) Northeast-10 Conference victory over the Golden Knights this evening at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Setters have now won five in a row and 10 of their last 11, while Saint Rose dropped to 2-2 throughout its last four contests.

Three players tried to keep the Golden Knights (6-16/3-7 NE-10) alive defensively as junior outside hitter Sarah Kahrs, freshman outside hitter Christina Strezenec and sophomore defensive specialist Laura Falkowitz each hit double-figures in digs. Kahrs wound up with 16 digs and eight kills, while Strezenec had 12 digs and a team-high 10 kills. Falkowitz came up with 14 digs to go with a pair of aces.

Pace (16-6/8-2 NE-10) junior setter Shea Hansen had an efficient night running the offense for the Setters behind 39 assists. Meanwhile, senior middle blocker Sianna Johnson hit .325 with 16 kills, 13 digs and three aces in a solid all-around performance.

It seemed like things would go in favor of Saint Rose after the Golden Knights came out hitting .318 en route to a 25-14 victory in the first set. Kahrs and Strezenec combined for seven of the club's 10 kills in the set and Saint Rose committed just three errors as opposed to nine for Pace.

The Setters found themselves down 3-0 to start the second, but ripped off a10-3 run and never looked back on the way to a 25-15 win. Pace furthermore held the Golden Knights to just seven kills in the frame.

The next two sets resulted in identical 25-17 triumphs for the Setters. Johnson had a combined nine kills throughout the two sets, while Hansen dished out 25 assists.

Both clubs return to action Friday night with a pair of 7:00 pm NE-10 matches on the schedule. Saint Rose heads to American International College, while Pace returns home to host Southern Connecticut State University.

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