Volleyball Faces Iona and Manhattan on Weekend Road Trip

OPENING SERVE
The Canisius volleyball program heads out on the road for a pair of contests against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals, Iona and Manhattan on Saturday and Sunday. Both matches are slated for 1 p.m. and both will be broadcast online. Saturday's match against the Gaels will be shown on ESPN3, while Sunday's match against the Jaspers will be on the MAAC.TV.

NOTING THE GRIFFS
• The Blue and Gold come into the weekend with a 4-12 overall mark and a 2-4-conference record.
• The Griffs are led offensively by freshman outside hitter Claire Leonard, who paces the team with 3.02 kills per set.
• Sara Wesley has also been a force to be reckoned with in the middle, posting a second-best kills per set average of 2.39, and a sparking hitting percentage of .308 to lead the team.
• Both Leonard and Wesley are highly ranked in the MAAC, with Wesley leading the pack with her hitting percentage (.308) and Leonard ranking fourth-best in the conference in kills per set (3.02) and is the highest ranked freshman.
• Cassidy Ceriani continues to be a leader on the court, leading the team in assists per set with a mark of 8.46, which ranks fourth in the MAAC.
• Sofia Lopez Acosta has shared time at libero, but has still managed to post a digs per set average of 3.80, which puts her fifth in the conference.
• The Griffs have stepped up its defense at the net recently and in large part its due to the efforts of it's top two blockers, Wesley and sophomore Leah Simmons. Wesley leads the team with a 0.73 blocks per set mark, while Simmons is next on that list with a average of 0.64.
• Against Quinnipiac last weekend, the Griffs tallied 15.5 team blocks - the most for the program since Oct. 5, 2013.

SERIES HISTORY VS. OPPONENTS
• The Golden Griffins come into its matchup against Iona trailing in the all-time series 29-15.
• The Blue and Gold split last with Iona last season, defeating the Gaels 3-2 at the Koessler Athletic Center but falling to Iona, 3-0 in the second-to-last match of the season.
• In its last 10 meetings with Iona, the Blue and Gold are 6-4.
• Against Manhattan, the Griffs have shown to be the more dominant team, holding a 25-18 record against the Jaspers.
• Like the Gaels, Canisius split with Manhattan, winning 3-2 on Oct. 8, but dropping its contest against the Jaspers in the season-finale, 3-1.
• In its last 10 against Manhattan, the Griffs are 6-4.

UP NEXT
Following this weekend's matches, Canisius prepares for its first meeting with its rival, Niagara on Oct. 12. After that match Canisius has an off weekend, before opening up a five-match home stand against Saint Peters (Oct. 21), Rider (Oct. 22), Niagara (Oct. 26), Manhattan (Oct. 28) and Iona (Oct. 29). Those will be the final home matches of the season for Canisius.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#3 Cassidy Ceriani: S; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#13 Leah Simmons: MB; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Sara Wesley: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#1 Claire Leonard: OH/MB; 6' 0"; Freshman

#2 Sofia Lopez Acosta: L; 5' 7"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#3 Cassidy Ceriani
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: S

#13 Leah Simmons
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: MB

#15 Sara Wesley
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#1 Claire Leonard
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH/MB

#2 Sofia Lopez Acosta
: 5' 7"; Junior
: L