The Canisius volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2013 season with a three-set victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday. The Golden Griffins won 25-14, 25-16, 26-24 in their first match of the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa.

Senior Emily Elek posted 12 kills, eight digs and a .391 attack percentage. Freshman Jacklyn Malusa had her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs to go along with two blocks and two service aces. Junior Emily Litwin recorded a match-high 23 digs while Sydney Palka (18 assists) and Grace Streicher (19 assists) combined to have 37 assists on 42 Canisius kills.

“It is nice to get our first win of the season, and we continue to see glimmers of the team we can be,” Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. “Building confidence is always easier after a win, and I hope we can do just that.”

Canisius broke open the first set with a 10-2 run to build a 19-9 lead. The Griffs posted three blocks in the run, with senior Roxanne Hernandez posting two blocks and two kills in the spurt that keyed Canisius to the first-set win. The Griffs closed out the second set by scoring 10 of the final 14 points of the set. A service ace, one of seven service aces for Canisius on the night, from Jessica Warner started the run while a kill from sophomore Lauren Siebert put Canisius ahead 2-0 in the match.

Fairleigh Dickinson (0-10) led for a majority of the third set, taking its biggest lead of the match at 23-16. The Griffs refused to yield the set and fought off five set points en route to winning the final eight points of the match and stealing the third set. Elek had three kills during the run while sophomore Rachel Kline posted two kills and sophomore Amy Osinski had two blocks in the stretch that led Canisius to its first win of the season.

Canisius (1-8) concludes play in the Bucknell Invitational on Saturday, when the Golden Griffins take on the host Bison at noon.

Notes: Canisius posted an attack percentage of .381 in the second set, its highest attack percentage in a set this season and also had a season-best .241 attack percentage in the match… Litwin had 10 digs in the third set while Streicher posted 11 assists in the third set… The Griffs played their seventh set this season that went to extra points… Canisius matched its season high with seven service aces and season low with three service errors.