Albany, NY--The Sage Colleges' women's volleyball earned the No. 2 seed in the 2015 Skyline Conference Tournament and hosted the No. 3 seeded Knights of Mt. St. Mary College on Thursday night in the Skyline Semifinals. Sage, the defending league tournament champions fell on Thursday to the Knights, 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22) and saw their goal of repeating as league champions dashed. MSMC will face the top seeded Dolphins of the College of Mt. St. Vincent on Saturday, November 7 at 5 p.m. at CMSV. With the win, MSMC improves to 17-18, while Sage's season ends with a 22-11 mark.
MSMC jumped out to a 2-0 lead taking the first two sets, before Sage took set three. The match was back and forth in the final set, before becoming tied at 18-18. The two teams exchanged points and leads before the match was last tied at 21-21. The Knights went up 23-21, before Sage pulled within a point, down 23-22. The Knights then reeled off three straight points to seal the win.
Junior outside hitter Angelica Cirigliano (Newburgh, NY/Wallkill Senior) had 11 kills and a .296 attack percentage, while adding five kills in the first set alone. Adding nine kills with six digs for MSMC was senior Kayla Kurka (Islip, NY/Islip), while junior outside Elizabeth Lavin (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) added seven kills with three digs and three block assists. Sophomore Megan Williams (Glenmont, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) had nine kills with four block assists. For the match, the Knights had 20 block assists, while junior setter Kristen Maddock (Medford, NY/Patchogue-Medford) had 41 setting assists with four aces and 13 digs.
Senior libero Jen Gries (Hicksville, NY/Holy Trinity) added 26 digs, while senior right side Kaitlin O'Brien (Staten Island, NY/new Dorp) added two aces with 13 digs.
For the Gators, the match marked the last competition for three of the program's seniors. They were captains Maggie Brenenstuhl (Melrose, NY/Hoosic Valley), Mickey Mango (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), and Morgan Robinson (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa). Mango had six kills and three total blocks, while Robinson had three kills with six digs and Brenenstuhl had 14 digs.
Mango moved into the No. 7 spot in career kills and she moved ahead of Elizabeth Rogers on Thursday (2002-2005, 702). She also finishes her career with 263 blocks, which ranks No. 4 all-time at Sage. Robinson finishes with 604 career kills, which stands No. 12 all-time at Sage.
Junior outside hitters Michayla Berard (Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley) and Sara Capolieta (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) added 10 and nine kills, respectively. Berard is climbing the career kills mark as she has 670 and is No. 10 on the career list.
Junior libero Siena Wilder (Ballston Spa, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Spa) had 31 digs with three aces, while junior setter Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford) had 32 setting assists with nine digs. Junior defensive specialist Missy Schneiderman (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) added 14 digs.
Wilder now has 976 career digs and is No. 14 having jumped from No. 16 as she moved ahead of both Joanie Cooney (949) and Johanna Eckl (974). Wilder, who ranks No. 9 in Division III with her 74 aces this fall, now has 178 career aces and is No. 5 on the career list as she is tied with Shannon Young (1999-2002). Liebig now has 2,375 career setting assists and ranks third all-time at Sage, while her 159 career aces is No. 8.
