Gators drop heartbreaker in finals of Skyline Championship
Link to championship box score
Newburgh, NY – The Sage Colleges' women's volleyball team was in action on Saturday in the 2013 Skyline Conference Championships. The top seeded Gators advanced to the finals after beating Mt. St. Mary College 3-1( 26-24, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23) in the semifinals. In the finals, Sage faced No. 2 seeded St. Joseph's College (LI). The Golden Eagles posted a 3-2 (19-25,25-23,14-25,25-21,15-9) win to collect the Skyline Conference Championship as well as the league's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship. With the loss, Sage stands at 17-17 on the year and must await their fate with the announcement of the 2013 ECAC Division III Tournament field late Monday.
SEMIFINALS
Sage 3-1 Mt. St. Mary
Sage's junior Helen Putriment (Troy, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) exploded for a season-best 39 digs, while added 14 kills in the action. Rookie Michayla Berard (Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley) added 15 kills as well for the Gators while rookie setter Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford) posted 44 setting assists in the action with five digs and an ace.
Junior libero Katelyn Drollette (Cadyville, NY/Saranac) had 26 digs, while rookie Sara Campolieta (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) picked up 12 digs. Sophomore Morgan Robinson (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) connected for 10 digs with seven kills, while sophomore Mickey Mango (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) collected seven kills, two digs and four total blocks.
CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Joe's (LI) 3-2 Sage
Putriment, who earned 2013 Skyline Conference Player of the Year honors earlier this week, exceeded her semifinal performance in the championship match as she racked up 33 digs with 14 kills. Over the course of the season, she had 14 double-doubles for Sage in 2013. The junior outside hitter, now has 1,028 career kills, ranking her No. 5 on the Gator career list. She also has 1,309 career digs and stands No. 4, while being in the company of just four Sage women's volleyball player to achieve over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. of just four players at Sage to have over 1,000 digs and kills on her career.
Berard also had a double-double as she had 11 kills with 13 digs and two block assists. Robinson connected for 11 kills with five digs for the Gators. Liebig, this past week's Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week, tallied 44 setting assists with 12 digs. Drollette posted 25 digs in the finals and now has a personal-best 508 digs this fall. She has 1,112 career digs and ranked No. 11 on the Gators career list. Mango posted 11 digs with four digs and a pair of blocks. She has a team-best 81 total blocks in 2013, while elevating her resume to include 141 total blocks which is No. 7 on the career list as she moved ahead of Lauren LaRoque (140, 1996-1999) on Saturday.
Junior Jillian Schwab (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) also had seven kills with an ace and four total blocks for Sage in the afternoon.
