Volleyball Opens 2018 Slate at CSU Invitational

Canisius (0-0-0)* vs Montana State (0-0)*
Date: Friday, Aug. 24, 2018
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Woodling Gymnasium – Cleveland, Ohio
Live Video: Not Available
Live Stats: PrestoSports
Twitter: @GriffVolleyball l #Griffs |#MAACVB

Canisius vs Binghamton (0-0)*
Date: Friday, Aug. 24, 2018
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Woodling Gymnasium – Cleveland, Ohio
Live Video: Not Available
Live Stats: PrestoSports
Twitter: @GriffVolleyball l #Griffs |#MAACVB

Canisius at Cleveland State (0-0)*
Date: Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Woodling Gymnasium – Cleveland, Ohio
Live Video: Not Available
Live Stats: PrestoSports
Twitter: @GriffVolleyball l #Griffs |#MAACVB

*Records as of Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018

The Canisius volleyball team opens the 2018 season Friday when it travels to the CSU Invitational for three matches at the Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Scouting Canisius
• Heading into the third season of head coach Lenika Vazquez's tenure, Canisius welcomes back nine letterwinners from its 2017 squad that finished with a 10-18 record overall and an 8-10 ledger in MAAC play.
• The Blue and Gold return three seniors, including Sofia Lopez Acosta and Sara Wesley, both of whom played in all 100 sets last season.
• The four rising juniors are led by Cassidy Ceriani, who currently sits tenth in program history with 1689 career assists through two seasons.
• Andrea Diaz Lopez and Tamia Bowden make up the sophomore returnees, both looking to take a second-year leap.
• The six newcomers are all freshman, the largest incoming class for the Blue and Gold since 1998.

Wesley Named Preseason All-MAAC Team
• Senior Sara Wesley was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team as a middle hitter on Monday.
• Wesley led the conference in hitting percentage with a .309 clip last season and finished ninth in the MAAC with 2.61 kills per set.
• Her accomplishments last season earned her a spot on the 2017 All-MAAC Second Team.
• She is the first Golden Griffin to be named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team since outside hitter Katlyn Tyler in 2016.

Scouting Our Opponents
• Montana State finished last season 10-15 overall with a 6-10 mark in the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats enter their first campaign under head coach Daniel Jones.
• Glenn Kiriyama enters his 20th season as the head coach of Binghamton, finishing last year with a 12-15 overall mark and 8-4 in America East play. The Bearcats advanced to the 2017 America East Championship match, losing to Stony Brook.
• Cleveland State enters head coach Chuck Voss' 19th season as the three-time defending champion of the Horizon League, coming off a 22-8 run that saw them go 13-3 in Horizon League matches before losing to Utah in the First Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Up Next
• Canisius continues its season-opening tournament play next weekend, returning to Ohio to take part in the Akron Invitational. The Griffs will play host Akron on Sept. 1 at 9:30 a.m. before taking on Maryland at 4:30 p.m. that same day. They close out the tournament with a noon start on Sept. 2 against 2017 America East champion Stony Brook.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Tamia Bowden: MH; 6' 1"; Sophomore

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

#12 Andrea Diaz Lopez: OH; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#2 Sofia Lopez Acosta: L/DS; 5' 7"; Senior

#15 Sara Wesley: MH; 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#9 Tamia Bowden
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: MH

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

#12 Andrea Diaz Lopez
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: OH

#2 Sofia Lopez Acosta
: 5' 7"; Senior
: L/DS

#15 Sara Wesley
: 5' 10"; Senior
: MH