MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Canisius College volleyball team dropped its season-opening doubleheader on Friday as the squad fell 3-0 to the Morehead Eagles in the morning, and then 3-1 to the Indiana State Sycamores, later in afternoon.

“Overall we saw some good things, and some things that we need to work on,” head coach Cathy Hummel said. However we're playing some good competition in this tournament, so this will be a good test for the future and we're hoping for a better result tomorrow. As for today I was really proud of our outside hitters and setters.”

In the first match the Griffs finished with a .198 hitting percentage, registering 35 kills on 96 total attacks, to go along with 16 errors. The Eagles finished the contest with a .298 hitting percentage recording 45 kills and 14 errors on 104 attacks.

Against Indiana State, Canisius finished the match with a .170 hitting percentage and 51 kills, while the Sycamores finished with a .244 hitting percentage with 46 kills.

Rachel Kline and Katlyn Tyler powered the Canisius attack, finishing the day averaging 3.71 and 4.29 kills per set between the two matches. Kline was a bit more efficient as she registered a .235 hitting percentage while Tyler notched a .148 mark.

Kline also recorded the only double-double of the day for Canisius, as she recorded 14 kills and 16 digs against Indiana State. Against the Sycamores, Tyler was one dig short of a double-double herself as she recorded 20 kills and nine digs.

Grace Streicher served as the primary assist-leader for Canisius as she finished the two matches with 54 assists, which was good for a 7.71 assists per set mark.

In the first contest against Morehead State, the Griffs battled hard in the first frame, coming back from a 14-7 deficit after going on a 12-5 run, to knot things at 19-19. However following the run, the Eagles bounced back, finishing the set on a 6-3 run to slip past Canisius 25-22.

That momentum carried through to the next frame as the Eagles dominated the Griffs, 25-16, to take a 2-0 advantage.

The third set was a bit different however as the Griffs staked claim to an early 8-4 lead thanks to kills by Jacklyn Malusa, and Kline, which forced a Morhead State timeout.

The Eagles fought back, chipping away at the Canisius lead, eventually knotting it up at 14-14, as Sydney Schuler recorded the tying kill. From there the teams traded points late into the set before, a pair of errors by the Morehead State attack, foiled what was set-point to make it 24-24.

Canisius had a chance to put the match away as a third attack error in a row by the Eagles made it 25-24, with set-point within the Griffs' grasp. However following a Morehead State timeout, the Eagles rattled off four of the final five points to clinch the set 28-26 and the match 3-0.

In the afternoon game, the Griffs dropped the first set 25-19, but got on the board with its first set win of the season in the second frame.

In the set, Indiana State raced out to a 15-11 lead before Canisius called a timeout. The Griffs then went on an 11-7 run to take its first lead in the contest and forced the Sycamores to call a timeout. Out of the break Indiana State knotted the match up twice before a service error and a kill by Tyler secured the 26-24 victory.

The Blue and Gold tried to keep pace but the Sycamores went on to win the next two sets by identical 25-18 scores to take the match 3-1.

The Griffs will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as the squad plays Marshall in the squad's Eagle Challenge finale. The Blue and Gold will then finish the weekend on Sunday when it takes on the Loyola Greyhounds in a match hosted by Robert Morris. That match is slated for 2 p.m.