The
Canisius College volleyball team wrapped up the first half of the conference
schedule with a four-set win over Iona College in the Koessler Athletic Center
on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Griffins won 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-10 to
improve to 11-8 overall and 8-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
After nine MAAC matches, first-place Canisius holds a two-match lead in the
loss column over the rest of the conference.
Three
Golden Griffins had double-digit kills in the match, with junior Jessica Warner posting a double-double
with 11 kills and 16 digs to go along with three service aces. Junior Emily Elek had 11 kills while senior Samantha Good had 10 kills. Junior Sydney Palka posted 44 assists while
senior libero Allyson Severyn recorded
a match-high 30 digs.
Canisius
combined for 16.5 blocks as a team in the match, with Warner, Elek and junior Roxanne Hernandez each recording eight
blocks against the Gaels. Canisius posted double-digit blocks for the fifth
match this season and for the third time in the last four matches.
"Iona
came out and played with a lot of energy from the start of this match, not
letting the ball hit floor," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "I was expecting that we could be a little flat
with our energy after the win over Fairfield, but we found our stride midway
through the first set.
"Once
again, we received contributions from a number of players and fed off the
energy provided by our block."
Iona
held an 18-14 lead in the first set and eventually led 20-17 before Canisius
closed the set on an 8-1 run. Warner and senior Logan Sulongga each had two kills in the run as Canisius took the
opening set. The Gaels evened the match by taking the second set, holding
Canisius to five kills in the second set.
Canisius
created some breathing room in the third set with three-point run, turning a
12-11 lead into a 15-11 advantage after a kill from Good. The Griffs would
never let the Gaels get closer than three points the rest of the set to go up
2-1 in the match. Canisius carried over that momentum to the fourth set,
winning the first six points and never looking back to close out the Gaels on a
kill from Elek.
Alicja
Pawelec led Iona (6-15, 3-6 MAAC) with 16 kills. Natalie Ziskin had 34 assists
while Theresa Harvey posted 28 digs.
Canisius
plays three matches next week, starting with a Battle of the Bridge rematch
with rival Niagara University on Wednesday evening. Match time at the Gallagher
Center is set for 6 p.m.
Notes: The
8-1 start in MAAC play for the Griffs is the best in program history... Canisius
ends a six-match losing streak to the Gaels... Canisius improves to 33-16 since 2006
when posting double-digit blocks in a conference match... Palka had 40 or more
assists for the fourth straight match, the longest stretch since Janelle Davis
had a stretch of four straight during the 2008 season... Severyn posted 30 or
more digs for the second time this season (37 digs at Rhode Island on Sept. 7)
and sixth time in her career... Warner recorded her fourth double-double of the
season... Good had double-digit kills for the fifth time this season and has a
streak of five or more for the fourth time in her career... Elek and Hernandez
each set a career high with the eight blocks while Warner matched her career
best.
