ALBANY, N.Y. - The College of Saint Rose women's volleyball team opened its season with a 3-1 victory (17-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23) against Mercy in the team's first official home competition in 663 days.
Freshman middle blocker
Julia Cavalcanti contributed 10 kills with a .600 hitting percentage in her first game in a Saint Rose uniform. Cavalcanti's strong serve was also on display, as her four aces was the most by any Golden Knights in the victory. Fellow freshman middle blocker
Karleigh Fripp matched Cavalcanti with 10 kills in her debut. Fripp was also accurate with her strikes, connecting for a .563 hitting percentage.
"It is a great feeling and honor to have the first home match of the season after the year of so many unknowns. Â Also a big shout out to the fans that showed up and supported this team," said Saint Rose Head Coach
Vanessa Volpe-Rivera. "We look forward to using this match as a building block into the season."
With neither team able to separate themselves through much of the opening set, Mercy used a 14-7 run to close out the first frame, 25-17. Senior outside hitter Nilka Rivera registered three kills and six digs and junior setter Yarianna Gonzalez added two aces to lead the Mavericks to the early first set victory. Gonzalez led all players with her 36 assists in the match.
Saint Rose re-grouped to take a back-and-forth second set by the score of 26-24. Â The Golden Knights and Mavericks battled through six ties and three lead changes in the second, with neither team able to build a lead of more than four points. Freshman setter
Emma Strefling and freshman outside hitter
Juliana Venduro each recorded key aces late to help the Golden Knights take set two. Strefling topped all Saint Rose players with 20 assists on the night.
The match stayed tight through the middle stages of the key third set. With the score tied 12-12, Saint Rose rallied to take six of the next seven points to pull ahead for good. Fripp contributed four kills in the set and the Golden Knights fed off the energy from the crowd at Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium to stifle the Mavericks defensively at the net.
Both teams continued to trade points throughout the fourth set, with the largest lead never eclipsing more than two points by either squad. With Mercy leading 20-18 in the fourth and pushing towards a potential fifth set, Saint Rose rallied for eight of the final 11 points of the set to secure the match victory. Cavalcanti tallied five of her 10 kills in the clinching set for the Golden Knights.
Junior outside hitter Larissa Schneid led Mercy (0-1), picked fourth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll, with 16 kills and 12 digs. Schneid was one of three Mavericks to record a "double-double" in the defeat, along with Rivera (10 kills, 17 digs) and Gonzalez (36 assists, 14 digs).
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The Golden Knights (1-0) will travel to New Haven, Conn. on Saturday for a pair of matches at Southern Connecticut State. Saint Rose will face Bloomfield at 1:00 pm and the host Owls at 3:00 pm. Mercy returns to action on Friday when the Mavericks host Pace at 6:00 pm.
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