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Celebration vs. Nevada 2019
Sacramento State Athletics
0
Canisius CAN 0-1
3
Winner Sacramento State SAC 1-0
Canisius CAN
0-1
0
Final
3
Sacramento State SAC
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 11 21 17 (0)
Sacramento State SAC 25 25 25 (3)
3
Winner Canisius CAN 1-1
2
Nevada NV 1-1
Winner
Canisius CAN
1-1
3
Final
2
Nevada NV
1-1
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Canisius CAN 23 25 10 25 15 (3)
Nevada NV 25 20 25 21 12 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball Opens Season with Split in Sacramento

The Canisius volleyball team ended the first day of the Sacramento State Invitational with a split at Colburg Court in Sacramento, Calif. The Golden Griffins dropped the season opener to the host, Sacramento State, in straight sets (11-25, 21-25, 17-25) before squaring off with Nevada in the nightcap, where the Griffs took the contest, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 10-25, 25-21, 15-12).
 
Canisius moved to 1-1 on the young campaign, while Sacramento State improved to 1-0 on the season and Nevada ended Friday with a 1-1 record.
 
MATCH ONE RECAP
Canisius senior Leah Simmons and sophomore Melina Woods led the Golden Griffins on offense, as Simmons notched nine kills at a .474 hitting clip while Woods finished with six kills. Additionally, sophomore Hannah Nelson knocked down four kills, while freshman Camille Vanleer had three kills in her collegiate debut. Nelson would also record the only service ace of the contest for the Griffs. Senior Cassidy Ceriani registered her first double-double of the season with 17 assists and 12 digs, while freshman libero Bree Long led the team with 17 digs. Simmons, Vanleer and senior Gabrielle Darnaby all tallied two block assists in the loss, while Ceriani had the lone solo block for Canisius.
 
For the Hornets, Sarah Davis topped the home team with 12 kills, while Ashtin Olin picked up 31 assists and three service aces. Davis, Olin and Paige Swinney all recorded double-digit digs, and Cianna Andrews had a game-high five block assists for Sacramento State.
 
Tallying just four kills in the opening set, the Griffs were unable to recover after an 11-0 run by Sacramento State, as the Hornets eventually took the frame, 25-11. The Blue and Gold did rebound in the second set, with Simmons collecting four kills and the Griffs jumping out to 12-7 lead off seven-straight points, but that five-point advantage would be their biggest lead of the contest. Despite the Canisius run, the host Hornets would storm back to win the set, 25-21.
 
In set three, Canisius would see Simmons tally four more kills and briefly take the lead twice, but the Hornets used a trio of four-point stretches to sweep the match with a 25-17 set victory.
 
MATCH TWO RECAP
In the second match of the day, Simmons and Woods powered the Griffs, as Simmons led with 17 kills and Woods was right behind her with a career-high 16 kills. Darnaby followed with seven kills of her own, while Ceriani and Vanleer had five kills. Ceriani tallied another double-double by picking up 39 assists to go with 20 digs, trailing only Long's 24 digs. In total, five Griffs tallied 10-plus digs, as sophomore Ashley Kekeisen had 13 digs, while Darnaby had 12 digs and Woods had another career high with 11 digs. Vanleer also led both teams with seven block assists, and junior Andrea Diaz Lopez had five total blocks on the night.
 
Kayla Afoa led the Wolfpack with a game-high 18 kills, as four members of Nevada has double-digit kills. Dalyn Burns finished with 58 assists, while Ryan Blackwood led her squad with 19 digs.
 
Canisius and Nevada opened with a close set that included nine lead changes, as the longest run of the frame was a 3-0 stretch by the Wolfpack to finish off a 25-23 victory. Simmons started hot again for the Griffs by racking up five kills in the opening set.
 
Canisius rebounded in the second frame, using a 5-0 run midway through the set to take a 17-12 lead that the Blue and Gold never looked back from, taking the second set, 25-20, off of 10 assists by Ceriani. The third set saw Nevada defeat the Griffs handedly thanks to a 14-3 run to start, as the Wolfpack cruised to a 25-10 set win.
 
In the fourth set, Canisius battled out of an early 4-0 deficit and held off a late five-point run from Nevada to secure a fifth set, winning 25-21. The Griffs then battled back again from and early 7-2 hole in the final set, using a pair of 4-0 runs to close out Nevada, 15-12, and earn Canisius' first win of the season.
 
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the first time Canisius faced either Sacramento State or Nevada in program history.
• Ceriani's double-doubles were the 37th and 38th of her career.
• Friday night's contest was the first time Ceriani has reached 20 digs in a match.
• Long's 17 digs are the most for a player in their Canisius debut since Allyson Severyn tallied 22 digs in the 2009 season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Simmons' 17 kills in the second match is the 27th time she has recorded 10-plus kills in her career.
• Woods now has double-digit kills on 11 occasions in her collegiate career.
• Woods' double-double (16 kills, 11 digs) against Nevada is the first of her career.
• Diaz Lopez's five total blocks against Nevada matches a career high, previously doing so against Quinnipiac on Oct. 1, 2017.
 
UP NEXT
The Griffs will close out the opening weekend of the season with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday against CSU Bakersfield. The match will be streamed on Watch Big Sky.
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