NEWBURGH, N.Y. - The Bard College women's volleyball team lost a heartbreaker Tuesday evening, as the team rallied from a 2-0 deficit, before ultimately falling in five sets to Mount Saint Mary College in a non-conference match.
Set scores for the contest were 25-20, 25-16, 25-27, 21-25 and 15-11.
All throughout the night, the game was close. The first set saw the Knights of Mount Saint Mary jump in front early, before the Raptors stormed back to take the lead, 12-9. Bard held the lead to a 17-15 advantage, until the Knights took over, scoring 10 of the final 13 points en route to the 25-20 set one win.
In the second set, Mount Saint Mary put Bard in a stranglehold, as the hosts took the frame with relative ease, 25-16. The fight in the Raptors was just beginning though, as the guests managed a come from behind third set victory to keep the contest going.
The Knights controlled the third set early on, grabbing leads of 7-2 and 13-7 along the way. Bard responded by scoring six of the next seven points to tie things at 14-14, before the drama began to kick in on both sides.
Over the rest of the set, the game was either tied or a one-point advantage, until the Raptors finally managed two-straight points off a Knights' hitting error and a kill from
Storm Bookhard to win the set, 27-25.
In set four, things remained tight. The close affair finally opened up when Bard managed a run of six of seven points to make the contest, 14-11. The advantage didn't last long though, as Mount Saint Mary answered right back with four-straight points to retake the lead, 15-14.
The two squads continued to trade points back and forth to a 21-21 scoreline, before Bard took over. A kill from
Mikala L'Hote, a Knights' attacking error, an ace from
Victoria Chou and a kill from Bookhard gave the Raptors the points they needed to win the set, pushing the contest to the final frame.
Just like the four sets that had come before it, the fifth set provided tons of entertaining back and forth action.
The Knights jumped out to a 3-1 lead, before Bard scored five of the next six points to take control, 6-4. Mount Saint Mary then answered by scoring five of the next six points to make it, 9-7, in favor of the hosts. That rally was answered by Bard's own rally, as the guests scored four straight to regain the lead, 11-9.
However, that scoreline proved to be the end of the comeback attempt for the Raptors on the night. The hosts proceeded to fire off six-straight points to take the set, 15-11, and the game, 3-2.
Unsurprisingly, the two squads finished with fairly even stats for the night. Assists and digs were nearly identical between the two teams. Bard won the aces battle, 12-5, while Mount Saint Mary countered that advantage by winning the blocks category, 12-5. The only major category that had a slight tilt to one side was kills, which went to the Knights, 53-42.
Individually, it was a career night for
Emily Anastasi. The junior finished with a program-record 40 digs, which shattered her old mark of 33 digs set last season against SUNY Cobleskill. Anastasi now owns the four-highest individual digs games in Bard history.
Captain
Maracela Talamantes set a new career high as well, finishing with 13 kills in the effort. L'Hote collected 12 kills, which was a career high for the sophomore, while Bookhard added eight kills.
Jewel Smith tallied 37 assists and
Lauryn Colby added four blocks for the Raptors.
For the Knights, Morgan Burke (Ringwood, NJ) powered home 18 kills in the win. Alex Klesin (Glendale, NY) added 12 kills and Kim Gries (Hicksville, NY) recorded 42 assists on the night.
Up next for Bard is a return to Liberty League action, as the team takes on 19th-ranked Ithaca College on the road on October 19th. That game is set to begin at 7 p.m. and you can follow it here.
