BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Canisius College volleyball team had its three-match winning streak snapped by archrival, Niagara on Wednesday night, 3-1 at the Koessler Athletic Center. The Griffs opened up the match with a hard fought first set victory, but Niagara rallied to win the next three frames to improve to 8-14 and 6-6, while Canisius dropped to 8-16 and 6-6. This is also the first time since 2012, that volleyball was swept in the Battle of the Bridge series.

“I think we just caved into pressure,” head coach Cathy Hummel said. “We haven't risen to many pressure situations, we have won some matches weren't expected to and some we were, but when the two pressure matches against Niagara came into play, we got out-executed. They went for it and we just didn't execute as well as we expected to.”

Things looked strong early on for Canisius as the squad opened with a 25-23 win, however Niagara gained control of the match in the second set, winning 25-21. Out of the break, the Purple Eagles tallied the final two set wins, 25-17 and 25-20, to secure the victory.

The Griffs offens opened the match with a hitting percentage of .365 in the first frame, showing efficiency on the attack, however the squad wasn't able to keep rhythm as it finished with a .148 mark. Niagara recorded a .225 hitting percentage, notching 55 kills and 21 errors on 151 total attacks.

Katlyn Tyler led the team in kills with 15 and recorded nine digs to fall just short of the double-double. Rachel Kline finished just behind her with 13 kills but had 21 digs to lead the Blue and Gold in that category.

Grace Streicher finished the match with a double-double of her own with 35 assists and 10 digs. Meanwhile Donnett Hickson played all four sets as libero and finished with five digs during the match.

Niagara's Melissa McGwin finished with 20 kills to pace her squad, while Nicole Matheis and Rayenne Hale, had 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Matheis also had the squads lone double-double with 12 digs to add to her kill total. Alexis Gray led the Purple Eagles with 41 assists.

The Griffs now settle in for the final six matches of the schedule, and will take to the road for the next two weekends before returning home. The Griffs will take on Fairfield on Saturday and Quinnipiac on Sunday, to open the road swing. Both matches are slated for 1 p.m. start.