The Canisius College volleyball team took the final two sets and defeated Loyola University 20-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20, 15-6 to improve to 14-10 overall and 11-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Golden Griffins need one more win to clinch a spot in the 2012 MAAC Championship.

Freshman Lauren Siebert led Canisius with 14 kills and a .500 attack percentage to go along with eight blocks, all career highs for the middle blocker. Senior Samantha Good had 12 kills and six blocks while junior Jessica Warner posted a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior Sydney Palka recorded 34 assists while senior Allyson Severyn had a career-high 39 digs. Senior Logan Sulongga added seven blocks as Canisius had 15 blocks in the match.

"We were able to pick up our emotion in the middle of the fourth set and really carried that over and used it in the fifth set to pick up a road win," Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. "Lauren did a great job offensively filling in for Roxanne, and we are glad to be coming home with two victories this weekend."

Loyola broke open the first set by scoring four straight points to turn a 15-15 tie into a 19-15 advantage. The Griffs cut the deficit to two points twice but could never get any closer as the Greyhounds took the opening set. Canisius built a 20-11 lead in the second set before Loyola made a late run. The Griffs would win the set on a kill from Siebert.

The teams had 13 lead changes and six ties in the third set as Loyola fought off two set points. The Griffs would fight off the first set point for the Greyhounds at 26-25 but Loyola won the set after a Canisius error. In the fourth set, the Griffs broke it open with a 5-0 run to go up 15-9 on a kill from Warner and eventually went up 20-11 after a kill from Siebert. The Greyhounds wouldn't go quietly, using a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 21-17. Canisius wouldn't let the lead get under four, winning the set on a Loyola service error.

In the fifth set, Canisius won the first two points and never gave up the lead. After Loyola made it 2-1, the Griffs broke it open with six straight points, which included three blocks. Canisius easily won the decisive set, taking the match on back-to-back Loyola attack errors as the Griffs held Loyola to a -.167 attack percentage in the set.

Faye Lukas led Loyola (13-12, 6-8 MAAC) with 19 kills while Jac Bullock had 16 kills. Lauren Andersen posted a double-double with 56 assists and 14 digs.

Canisius plays its final two home matches of the season next weekend, starting with Saturday's match against Manhattan. Match time in the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Canisius sweeps the season series from Loyola for the second consecutive season... The seven blocks for Sulonnga set a new season high... Palka had 30-plus assists for the 12^th time in 13 matches... Severyn's previous career high for digs was 37 against Rhode Island on Sept. 7... Warner's double-double was her fifth of the season... Siebert came into the match with 20 kills and 11 blocks on the season... Good is averaging 1.11 blocks per set in the last nine matches... Canisius had 11 or more blocks for the seventh time this season and fifth time in nine matches... Canisius fell to 7-3 in points decided by extra points... Canisius is now 2-2 in five-set matches this season.