2023 Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Championship - First Round
(4) Farmingdale State 3, (5) Sarah Lawrence 2 (17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 15-7)
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Senior middle blocker
Kalena Ricketts (Cambria Hts., N.Y.) led all players with a career-high 31 points Tuesday night at the Walter A. Lynch Sports Center, helping lead fourth-seeded Farmingdale State College back from a pair of one-set deficits to a 3-2 triumph over No. 5-seed Sarah Lawrence College in the first round of the 2023 Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Championship.
With the victory, FSC (13-10) advances to Thursday night's semifinal round, where it will face top-seeded Manhattanville College at 7:30 p.m. from the Kennedy Gymnasium in Purchase, N.Y.
Digital ticketing will be in effect, with space extremely limited in Kennedy; advance tickets can be purchased at this link, with admission $8 for adults, as well as $4 for senior citizens and children 12 and under. FSC students with a valid ID are free of charge.
Ricketts went for 26 kills on .279 hitting to go along with a match-best four service aces and two assisted blocks for the hosts, with her kills total serving as the second-highest in the Skyline this fall. Junior middle
Mikayla Profeta (W. Islip, N.Y.) registered 11 kills and three points at the service line, while senior right side
Madeline Stanley (Massapequa Pk., N.Y.) collected 10 points on nine kills and two assisted blocks. Freshman
Doly DeJesus (Geneva, N.Y.) added nine points on six kills and three aces for the Rams, with freshman
Sarah Rende (Wantagh, N.Y.) collecting a double-double with 43 assists and 13 digs, setting her side to a .192 hitting percentage on the night. Junior libero
Lana Ventura (Pt. Washington, N.Y.) paced the FSC back row with 16 digs, with Profeta and sophomore
Delaney Keegan (Lake Grove, N.Y.) added 15 and 14, respectively.
The visiting Gryphons (14-11) received 23.5 points from Athena Kazos, including 21 kills and two aces, with Georgi Massey adding nine kills, three aces and 10 digs. Libero Kaille Ferguson passed a match-high 24 digs for SLC.
Sarah Lawrence only trailed in the first set after the first point, jumping out to a 17-8 advantage on its way to a 1-0 lead in the match. Kazos floored eight kills in the frame for the visitors.
FSC responded with a five-point victory in set two to knot the match at 1-all, leading by as much as 23-14 on a kill from Ricketts before Profeta's spike closed out a six-serve string by Massey. Ricketts hit 6-0-13 (.462) in the frame to pace FSC, while adding a pair of points at the service line.
Eight ties and five lead changes took place in the third stanza, before the seventh of Kazos's eight kills in the set put the Gryphons ahead for good at 20-19. Ricketts matched Kazos with eight points in the set for the home side.
The fourth set was tied as late as 12-12, before Profeta's kill gave Farmingdale State a 19-16 lead and set up three-consecutive aces by DeJesus to help send the match to the deciding fifth frame.
In the final stanza, with a 10-7 lead, Profeta's side-out kill sent her back to the service line to close out the match, as she collected two aces to go along with a kill by Ricketts to send the Rams into a rematch of last season's semifinal with the top-seeded Valiants. FSC shut the door on the match with an impressive 8-1-13 (.538) hitting line in the deciding set.
