The Canisius College volleyball team lost in four sets at Iona College on Sunday afternoon, in the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, N.Y. The Gaels defeated the Golden Griffins 22-25, 25-23, 25-19 and 26-24 as Canisius falls to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Senior Danielle Brawn led the Golden Griffins and matched a career high with 20 kills. Sophomore Emily Elek had 11 kills while senior Janelle Davis had 45 assists. Junior Allyson Severyn recorded 14 digs while senior Layne Adams had seven blocks.

"We need to realize that we are going to get the best effort from everyone in the league, especially when going on the road. We need to become a mentally tougher team and limit the runs by our opponents," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "To drop the first two matches is disappointing, but there is a lot of volleyball left to be played. There's no reason to panic, but there is some disappointment."

Canisius jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set, forcing Iona to call a timeout early in the set. Canisius extended its lead to 11-4 on a kill from Elek, but the Gaels scored five straight points to cut the Canisius lead to two points. The Griffs would re-establish a cushion with a three-point run later in the set, going up 16-11 on a service ace from junior Samantha Good. The Gaels would cut it to one point at 23-22, but a kill from Good and Iona error gave Canisius the first set.

Canisius won the first five points in the second set as well, but the Gaels came right back and won the next five points to even the set. Iona took its first lead at 12-11 and would use a 5-0 run later in the set to go up 19-14. Canisius tied the score at 22-22 on an Iona error, but the Gaels won three of the last four points to even the match.

Iona broke open a tight third set, which was tied at 16-16, with a 7-0 run, as the Gaels went on to go up 2-1 in the match. Iona carried that momentum to the fourth set, building an early 10-4 lead. Canisius battled back to take an 11-10 lead by winning seven consecutive points. The Griffs pushed their lead to as many as six points at 21-15 on a solo block from Good. Canisius had three chances to close out the set at 24-21, but the Gaels fought off three set points and won five straight points, all on kills from Alicja Pawelec, to take the set and win the match.

Pawelec led all players with 25 kills on the day to go along with 11 digs. Catrina Warren had 11 kills while Madisyn Spence had 10 kills. Theresa Harvey had 21 digs while Nicole Tamburri recorded 48 assists.

Canisius concludes its three-game road stretch to start MAAC play at two-time defending league champion and rival Niagara University on Saturday. Match time in the Battle of the Bridge contest in the Gallagher Center is set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Iona has defeated Canisius in each of the last five meetings overall and in five straight in New Rochelle... Brawn matched her career high of 20 kills from the Aug. 26 match against Providence... Davis had 40-plus assists for the 21^st time in her career... Adams had six or more blocks for the third time this season.