Box Score
For the second consecutive match, the Canisius College volleyball team forced a fifth game but couldn't win the decisive game as West Virginia defeated the Golden Griffins 30-28, 27-30, 30-23, 25-30, 15-9 in the final match of the Western New York Invitational.
Nicole Fafard (East Setauket, N.Y.) led Canisius (1-6) with a career-high 15 kills while Michelle Godfrey (Tonawanda, N.Y.) matched her career high with a season-high 10 kills. Freshman Michella Domo (Vancouver, B.C.) had 12 kills to go along with two solo blocks and four block assists.
“Our team showed maturity from our previous matches, and I'm proud of the team's development,” Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. “I'm anticipating that resulting in our first significant win of the season.”
Going up early wasn't beneficial to either team as the Griffs held a 6-2 lead but saw the Mountaineers go on a 7-3 run to tie game one at 9-9. West Virginia eventually took a 27-22 lead, and the Griffs battled back to tie it at 28-28 but couldn't come all the way back as the Mountaineers won the next two points. West Virginia held an 8-1 lead in game two, but Canisius rallied, to take its first lead at 27-26 on a kill by Domo.
In game three, the Mountaineers went the conventional route, going up 11-5 and winning by seven. Canisius broke open a 16-14 score in game four by methodically building its lead to a high of seven points and held on to win by five. Game five stayed close, with the score tied at 6-6 but a five-point run by West Virginia gave them control and the win.
Abby Tevis led West Virginia (5-1) with 26 kills on 58 attempts while Tammy Wolf and Kristina Gallahan had 14 kills apiece for the Mountaineers.
Canisius hits the road next weekend for three matches at Kent State University. The Griffs open with Binghamton Sept. 7, at 5 p.m.
Notes: Brittany Gerde (Findlay, Ohio) earned All-Tournament Team honors after totaling 80 assists and 29 kills in the four matches... The Griffs had 13 blocks compared to five for the Mountaineers... Canisius has 36 blocks in its last three matches... Domo hit .422 on the weekend... Jess Stackhouse (Warsaw, N.Y.) averaged 4.65 digs per game in the Western New York Invitational... Canisius last played back-to-back five-game matches Oct. 29-30, 2005.
