Albany, N.Y. (October 3) -- The Assumption College volleyball team (3-8, 1-3 NE-10) fell to Saint Rose (9-4, 2-1 NE-10) by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at Nolan Gymnasium in Albany, N.Y. Freshman Kiki Romanik (San Rafael, Calif. / Sir Francis Drake) posted a match-high 25 assists on the evening.

The Hounds suffered a swift defeat at in set one, 25-15 before falling again in set two 25-19. Assumption held tough for the win in set three, 25-20, hoping to rally for the win, but Saint Rose was able to claim set four 25-19 for the victory.

In the first set, the Hounds surrendered the first three points before earning the ball back on a Golden Knight service error. A kill by senior Bizzie Gonring (Whitefish Bay, Wis. / Dominican) kept the ball on the Assumption side of the court. The Hounds kept the ball for a short period, however, as Saint Rose went on a 6-0 run to make it 13-3, a deficit the Hounds could not overcome.

Set two kicked off in a similar fashion with the Hounds falling early, 5-1. Despite a three-point run at the end of the set on an Alie Carlson (Amston, Conn. / RHAM) kill and two Stephanie Hawley (Savannah, Ga. / St. Vincent's Academy) service aces, the Golden Knights took a 2-0 set lead.

In set three, Assumption got off to a quick start, posting a 4-0 lead on the shoulders of Romanik, who included a service ace in her run behind the line. The Hounds never relinquished the lead and took the set to pull within one.

The Golden Knights came out on fire in set four, taking a quick 5-1 lead that would hold throughout the rest of the match.

The Hounds posted a total of 32 kills, nine of which came from Carlson for a team high. Assumption also notched 38 digs, six block assists and two solo blocks. In comparison, the Golden Knights tallied 48 kills, 42 digs, six block assists and one solo block. Also, Assumption posted eight service aces compared to 13 for Saint Rose. 

Senior Ann Donahue (Braintree, Mass. / Braintree) led the Hounds with a .333 kill percentage, followed by Carlson (.190) and Gonring (.148).

Defensively, junior Courtney Bagwell (Diamond Bar, Calif. / Diamond Bar) posted 11 digs while adding two service aces.

The Hounds return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 7, as they travel to Southern Connecticut for a 7 p.m. match-up.

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