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Canisius University Athletics

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Volleyball Celebrates vs. Fairfield on Nov. 16, 2019
Dean Bogart
2
Fairfield FFD 21-5, 16-1 MAAC
3
Winner Canisius CAN 14-15, 11-6 MAAC
Fairfield FFD
21-5, 16-1 MAAC
2
Final
3
Canisius CAN
14-15, 11-6 MAAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Fairfield FFD 28 20 25 19 10 (2)
Canisius CAN 26 25 19 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball’s 3-2 Win Ends Fairfield’s Win Streak

For the second time in as many years, the Fairfield volleyball team came into the Koessler Athlertic Center riding a long winning streak, and for the second time in as many years, the Canisius volleyball program ended a Fairfield win streak.
 
On Saturday, the Golden Griffins stopped the Stags' 19-match win streak with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Senior Day. Canisius won the match by scores of 26-28, 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 15-10 to move to 14-15 overall and 11-6 in MAAC play, while Fairfield fell to 21-5 overall and 16-1 in league action after suffering its first loss since Sept. 7.
 
Canisius freshman Ella Loussia led the way offensively with a season-best 19 kills, while senior Leah Simmons and sophomore Hannah Nelson added 12 kills apiece in the victory, the Griffs' sixth five-set victory of the season. Senior setter Cassidy Ceriani recorded a season-high 51 assists to go along with 16 digs and five service aces, and freshman Bree Long posted 27 digs in the winning effort. For the match, Canisius hit .226 as a team and ended the day with nine service aces, as Ceriani and Nelson combined to account for eight of those for the Blue and Gold.

For Fairfield, Rochester, N.Y., native Laura Seeger tallied 22 kills and Manuela Nicolini totaled 49 assists in the losing effort, while libero Morgan Doll racked up 34 digs.

Fairfield trailed for most of the first set before scoring three-straight points to seal the 28-26 victory in the opening frame. Canisius evened the match at 1-1 with the 25-20 victory in the second set, with Loussia pounding down the final kill of the stanza to even the match for the Blue and Gold.
 
After the intermission, Fairfield took a 2-1 lead in the contest after taking the third set by the score of 25-19, and the Stags led the Griffs 11-7 in the fourth set before Canisius took a timeout to regroup. Out of that timeout, the Griffs made their charge, using a 6-1 run to take a 13-12 lead. In that run, Canisius got two kills from Loussia, a service ace from Ceriani and the Blue and Gold took advantage of two Fairfield attack errors. With Canisius leading 20-18 in the fourth set, back-to-back kills from Simmons put the home team up 22-18, and three-straight kills by the Griffs down the stretch forced a fifth and deciding set.
 
In the fifth set, Canisius jumped out to an early 6-1 lead thanks to a pair of service aces by Ceriani and back-to-back attack errors by Fairfield. A service error by Canisius got Fairfield within four at 12-8, but the Blue and Gold would end the match by scoring three of the contest's final points, once again capped by a kill by Loussia.

Head Coach Lenika Vazquez's Postgame Comments
"The best part of today is watching the Griffs succeed in areas we have been focusing on in practice. A win always feels good. I'll let you all enjoy us breaking the Fairfield streak. It's time for us to set our targets on Quinnipiac now."

Game Notes
• Saturday was the 47th all-time meeting between the two Jesuit schools in volleyball, with the Stags leading the series 32-15.
• Canisius' six five-set wins this season equal the same amount of five-set wins the program collected from 2016-18.
• The 19 kills for Loussia on Saturday marked the sixth time this season she's posted 10-or-more kills in a match.
• Ceriani's 51 assists are the most for the senior in a match since she recorded a career-high 61 assists against Manhattan Oct. 8, 2016. 
• Ceriani's five aces match her career high, which has done twice before.
• Ceriani now has 116 career service aces, which ranks sixth all-time in school history, passing former Griff Christina Wildes' 112 aces.
• Nelson's three service aces on Saturday gives her 52 for the season, which ranks second-best on the school's single-season service aces chart. She needs four more aces to move past former Griff Somer Sharpstone for the single-season record, which has stood since 1997.
• Long now has 506 digs on the season, which ranks 10th best for a single-season in program history. She joins former Griff libero Allyson Severyn as the only two players in school history to record 500-plus digs in their rookie season on Main Street.
• Ceriani's double-double was the 55th of her career, while Nelson had her 12th career double-double.
• Simmons' four block assists Saturday gives her 238 career block assists, tying her with former Griff Roxanne Hernandez for sixth in program history.
 
Up Next
Canisius closes out the 2019 regular season on Sunday when the Griffs play host to Quinnipiac in the Koessler Athletic Center. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.

Follow The Griffs
For complete coverage of Canisius volleyball, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffVolleyball (Instagram) and @GriffVolleyball (Twitter).
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