Farmingdale State - 3, Mount Saint Vincent - 1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-21, 26-24)
RIVERDALE, N.Y. | Junior outside hitters Samantha Russo (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Mackenzie Marquardt (Centereach, N.Y.) led the Farmingdale State women's volleyball team to a come-from-behind, 3-1 Skyline Conference victory at Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday evening. The Rams improved to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play, earning their fourth consecutive Skyline win, while the Dolphins fell to 4-11 and 1-3 in the conference.
Farmingdale State dropped a tight opening set, 27-25, after holding a 25-24 lead. A Mount Saint Vincent kill and service ace, followed by an FSC attack error, gave the Dolphins the 27-25 victory.
The Rams trailed 22-16 in the second set before rattling off five straight points, including two kills by Marquardt, to cut the deficit to 22-21. After a Dolphins point, Marquardt delivered back-to-back kills before sophomore middle blocker Alana Henry (Amityville, N.Y.) added a kill and a Mount Saint Vincent attack error gave FSC the 25-23 win to even the match.
In the third set, Farmingdale State faced a 21-15 deficit before junior defensive specialist Samantha DiBiasi (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) took over at the service line. The Rams scored 10 consecutive points to win the set, 25-21, with Russo recording three kills and Henry adding two during the run.
FSC found itself trailing again in the fourth, 24-21, but again rallied behind DiBiasi's serving. Kills by Russo and Henry, a DiBiasi ace and two Mount Saint Vincent errors gave the Rams five straight points to take the set, 26-24, and secure the match, 3-1.
Russo finished with a season-high 17 kills and 18.5 points, while Marquardt recorded a career-best 13 kills on a .360 hitting percentage. Freshman right side Leslie Wandmacher (Bay Shore, N.Y.) added 12 kills, and Henry contributed 10 kills. Senior setter Sarah Rende (Wantagh, N.Y.) dished out 41 assists and recorded 13 digs, while senior libero Allison Salinas (Glen Cove, N.Y.) led the team with 22 digs. DiBiasi added nine digs and two service aces in the win.
As a team, Farmingdale State totaled 59 kills, the sixth-highest single-match total in program history, and finished with eight service aces and seven total blocks.
The Rams will next play host to defending Skyline Conference champion Manhattanville on Thursday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m.
