LEWISTON, N.Y. - The Canisius College volleyball team lost in four sets to Niagara University at the Gallagher Center on Saturday afternoon. The Purple Eagles defeated the Golden Griffins 25-16, 25-17, 27-29, 29-27 as Canisius falls to 4-9 overall and 0-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Senior Danielle Brawn had a double-double, leading Canisius with 17 kills to go along with 17 digs. Freshman Olivia Chrzanowski had nine kills and five digs after not playing in the first set. Senior Janelle Davis had 35 assists while junior Allyson Severyn had 20 digs and senior Joanna Burt had 15 digs.

"We gave up too many points on one-touch errors that really hurt us. Against a team the caliber of Niagara, that is a lot to overcome," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "After dropping the first two sets, we didn't fold and battled back against the top team in our conference."

Niagara won the first five points of the match en route to building a 10-3 lead as the Purple Eagles took advantage of four Canisius attack errors in the early going. Out of a timeout, Canisius cut down on its errors and worked its way back into the match, using a 4-1 run that featured two kills from sophomore Emily Elek. Three points would be as close as Canisius would cut the deficit in the opening set as the Purple Eagles pulled away to take the 1-0 lead in the match.

Niagara broke open the second set with a 9-1 run, turning a 4-4 tie into an eight-point deficit for the Golden Griffins as Canisius committed six attack errors during the spurt. Canisius could never get closer than five points the rest of the way as the Purple Eagles took their second set of the match.

Canisius came out of the locker room and took the first point of the third set on a kill from junior Samantha Good, as the Griffs quickly built a 4-1 lead. The Purple Eagles would slow down the momentum with a timeout and used a 7-2 run, that included two service aces off the net, to take a 13-11 lead. The Griffs battled back with a 5-1 run of their own, getting two kills from freshman Olivia Chrzanowski to take a 16-14 lead. Canisius maintained that lead until late in the set when Niagara had two match points. The Griffs fought those match points off and won the final three points of the set, capped by a kill from Brawn, to force a fourth set.

Niagara responded by winning the first four points of the fourth set, but Canisius came back with a 9-1 run to take a four-point lead, that included a stretch of four straight Niagara errors on the serve of Good. The Purple Eagles would eventually re-take the lead at 17-16. The Griffs tied the match three times and re-claimed the lead at 21-20 on a Niagara error. Niagara then won three of the next four points to reclaim the lead. The Griffs fought off two match points and had their own set point at 27-26. However, the Purple Eagles would take the final three points, winning on their fifth match point of the afternoon.

Hannah Hedrick led Niagara (8-7, 3-0 MAAC) with 18 kills to go along with 13 digs. Kari Honomichl also had a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs while Amanda Wilken had 11 kills. Nicole Bayer totaled a match-high 40 assists while Sam Morgan had a match-high 32 digs.

Canisius returns to the Koessler Atheltic Center on Tuesday night, beginning a stretch where the Golden Griffins play eight out of 10 matches at home. The Golden Griffins take on cross-town rival the University at Buffalo, with match time set for 7 p.m.

Notes: Saturday's match was the first Battle of the Bridge contest between the schools in any sport for the 2011-12 athletic season. Niagara earns one point for Saturday's win... Niagara has defeated Canisius in each of the last five meetings between the teams, including the last three in the Gallagher Center... Canisius starts 0-3 in the MAAC for the first time since the 1999 season... Brawn recorded her third double-double of the season and has led Canisius in kills in 10 matches this season... The 15 digs from Burt matched her career high set against Morgan State on Aug. 26.