The Canisius College volleyball team settles in for another weekend tournament, as the squad heads to Akron, Ohio for the Akron Invitational. The Griffs will play St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday, Sept. 4, at 4 p.m., and then wrap up with Navy at 10 a.m. and Akron at 7 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 5. The trio of matches will be the final grouping before the Griffs play in their home opener on Labor Day, against Youngstown State.

NOTING THE GRIFFS

• Canisius comes into the tournament with a 1-3 record after picking up its first win of the season against Loyola on Sunday, 3-0. The Squad struggled in a challenging opening tournament as Morehead State (3-0), Indiana State (3-1) and Marshall (3-0) all picked up wins against the Blue and Gold.
• Senior Rachel Kline had a strong weekend, as the outside hitter averaged 3.31 kills per set including a weekend-high 14 against Indiana State, and a .176 hitting percentage.  
• Junior outside hitter Katlyn Tyler also had a strong weekend, as she shook off some efficiency issues in the first match to finish the weekend averaging 3.92 kills per set and a .140 hitting percentage.
• Tyler set a new career-high in kills in a match with 20 against Indiana State last Saturday. Also thanks to her skills on attack, she was named to the Eagle Challenge All-Tournament team.
• Several Canisius newcomers saw action this weekend, with Julia Hrycyk and Sara Wesley seeing the most action for the Blue and Gold. Hrycyk finished her first weekend of action averaging 1.46 assists per set with a 14-assist match against Loyola on Sunday. Wesley played in all-four matches as she finished with weekend-best six kills against the Sycamores on Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE FIELD

• The most familiar opponent to the Blue and Gold is St. Francis (Pa.) as the squad holds a decided 12-6 advantage over the Red Flash.
• The last time the Griffs and St. Francis (Pa.) squared off was in 2011, as Canisius won 3-0.
• Canisius won the first five matches it ever played against the Red Flash, with the first loss coming in Sept 13, 1998.
• Canisius is looking for its first-ever victory over the Akron Zips on Saturday as Akron holds a 3-0 advantage.
• The last time the Blue and Gold faced Akron was in 2005 as the Griffs fell in three sets.
• The Griffs and Navy get ready for just their third meeting between the two squads in their respective histories.
• Canisius took the first match in 2011 but Navy took the most recent in 2013 with a 3-0 win.

NOTING THE OPPONENTS

ST. FRANCIS (Pa.)

• St. Francis (Pa.) enters the weekend with a 1-4 record after going 1-3 in the Towson Invitational and falling to Youngstown State two days later. 
• The Red Flash has already faced one member of the MAAC as Manhattan defeated St. Francis (Pa.) 3-0 to open the season.
• Hannah Kutny leads St. Francis (Pa.) in kills, while Alanna Bienkarn leads in assists (10.10) and Jenna Veres paces the team in digs per set (4.23).

NAVY

• Navy comes into the tournament with a 0-3 record after dropping all three contests in the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Temple Invitational, falling to St. John's (3-0), Oregon (3-0) and Temple (3-0).
• Gaby Smith leads the squad in kills per set with a 2.00 mark, while Patricia Mattingly leads in assists per set (4.44) and Darby Minton paces the team in digs per set (3.11).

AKRON

• The host Zips enter the weekend with a 1-3 record after falling to SIU Edwardsville (3-2), Drake (3-1) and Cleveland State (3-1) and having defeated Western Illinois (3-0).
• Julia Smagacz leads the team in kills per set (2.88), while Karley Kusan and Brenna Mack, both lead the Zips in assists per set (8.78) and digs per set (3.00).