The Canisius College volleyball team lost both of its matches on the first day of the Radford Invitational in Radford, Va. on Friday. Canisius dropped the opener to Davidson 27-25, 25-18 and 25-16 and lost in five sets to East Tennessee State, falling 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13. The Golden Griffins are now 1-5 on the season.
Sophomore Emily Elek led the Griffs with 15 kills against East Tennessee State - her second career high in three matches. Sophomore Allyson Severyn had a double-double with 24 digs and 11 assists while junior Janelle Davis had a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Samantha Good added six blocks while senior Renee Lettow had 18 kills on the day.
After East Tennessee State easily won the first set, the Griffs responded by winning the second set to even the match at one set apiece. Canisius took a 17-12 lead with an 8-3 run before the Buccaneers came back by winning eight of nine points to go up 20-18. The Griffs won three straight points - including back-to-back blocks from Good and Lettow and Good and freshman Roxanne Hernandez to take a 21-20 lead. The Buccaneers regained the lead by winning the next two points, but the Griffs won four of the last five points - including two kills from Elek to win the set.
With the score tied at 20-20, the Buccaneers claimed the third set by taking five of the last six points to win 25-21. Canisius responded again, winning the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set. The Griffs used a 9-2 run midway through the set to take a 19-15 lead and pulled away, getting three kills and a service ace from Lettow to close out the set.
In the fifth set, Canisius won the first three points and maintained that lead until a kill from Elek made the score 7-4. The Buccaneers used a 5-1 run to take a 13-11 lead, forcing a Canisius timeout. The Griffs scored two straight points - a kill from Good and an ace from Davis to tie the match at 13-13 and force an East Tennessee State timeout. The Buccaneers would win the final two points to take the match.
"We're trying to fight through some tough times right now," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "We're playing okay statistically, but not making enough big plays at the right time to win close matches."
In the first match of the day against Davidson, Canisius built a six-point lead by using a 9-3 run that included four straight points on the serve of Severyn. The Griffs were up 24-18 in the first set, but the Wildcats survived six set points, winning seven straight to go up 25-24. Canisius tied the set at 25-25, but Davidson won the next two points to take the first set.
Davidson would win the second and third sets to close out the match.
Canisius concludes play at Radford on Saturday, with two matches in the Invitational. The Golden Griffins face Norfolk State at 12 p.m. and the host Highlanders at 7 p.m.
Match Notes: Canisius and Davidson met for the second consecutive year, which are the only two meetings between the teams in program history. The Griffs won in four sets at Davidson last season... Canisius and East Tennessee State met for the second time, with the other meeting coming on Sept. 1, 1995 - a three-set win for the Buccaneers... The five-set match was the first of the season for the Griffs... Canisius is 9-5 in its last 14 five-set matches... Elek had 16 kills in the opening five matches before posting 15 in the second match on Friday... The double-double was the first of the career for Severyn and the 13th in the career for Davis.
