Volleyball Travels to Charm City Challenge in Baltimore

MATCH #7
Canisius (2-4) at Loyola Maryland (2-5)
Date: Friday, Sept. 13, 2019
Time: 12:30 p.m. EST
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: Patriot League Network

MATCH #8
Canisius vs. UMBC (2-4)
Date: Friday, Sept. 13, 2019
Time: 5 p.m. EST
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: Patriot League Network

MATCH #9
Canisius vs. Charlotte (4-4)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019
Time: 12 p.m. EST
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: Patriot League Network

Location: Reitz Arena (Baltimore, Md.)

The Canisius volleyball team will head to Baltimore, Md., this weekend to play three matches in the Charm City Challenge Presented by Residence Inn Owings Mills, hosted by former MAAC rival Loyola Maryland. Opening a third-straight weekend against the tournament host, the Golden Griffins and Greyhounds get things underway Friday at 12:30 p.m. The Griffs then square off with UMBC later in the day before wrapping up the weekend against Charlotte on Saturday.

Scouting Canisius
• The Golden Griffins, after a strong opening weekend in Sacramento, fell in all three matches this past weekend at the Jack Kaiser Classic to move their record to 2-4 in 2019.
• Sophomore Melina Woods led the Blue and Gold with 27 kills over the three contests along with 13 digs. The right-side hitter now has 57 kills and 37 digs on the campaign.
• Senior Leah Simmons' 24 kills over the weekend give her a team-leading 63 kills in 2019, while sophomore Hannah Nelson finished the three-match stretch with 20 kills.
• Senior Cassidy Ceriani tallied 81 assists to raise her season total to 182 assists, also digging 22 balls to have 73 total digs this season.
• Freshman libero Bree Long now sits at 90 digs in her rookie season, registering 29 digs at the Jack Kaiser Classic.

Scouting the Opponents
• Loyola is coming a five-set victory against Howard on Tuesday just days after the Bison swept Canisius, as the Greyhounds picked up their second win of 2019 after beating Furman to start the season. Ann Ernst headlines the Loyola offense, already recording 116 kills on the season (3.87 per set), while Ashley Dwyer has 206 assists and Katie Forsythe sits at 152 digs.
• UMBC have gone 2-4 so far after hosting a pair of tournaments, picking up wins over Lafayette and St. Francis (Pa.). The Retrievers also suffered five-set loss to Fairfield on Aug. 30. Kamani Conteh tops the team with 83 kills (3.46 per set) and Taylor Dunn has recorded 205 assists through 24 sets. Niki Khoshatefeh is responsible for over half (20) of the team's 38 total blocks.
• After going 3-0 in the opening weekend at home, Charlotte also earned a four-set win over Butler to move to 4-3 on the season before losing in straight sets to South Carolina on Tuesday. With 91 kills, Sydney Rowan paces the 49ers, while Tyra Galloway is behind her with 73 kills this season. Yumi Garcia leads the squad with 156 digs and Annika Wetterstrom has 158 assists.

Series History
• In the Canisius-Loyola all-time series, the Greyhounds hold a 20-16 edge over their old conference foe. However, the Griffs did defeat Loyola in the lone meeting since the Greyhounds left the MAAC after the 2012 season, a 3-0 win in 2015 at the Robert Morris Invitational.
• Friday evening's match will be the first meeting between Canisius and UMBC.
• The only previous meeting between the Griffs and the 49ers was at the 2017 Canisius Invitational, as Charlotte beat the host Griffs in three sets.

Up Next
• The Golden Griffins finish their non-conference slate at the Blue and White Invitational hosted by University at Buffalo. Canisius faces Cornell and Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sept 20 before playing the crosstown rival Bulls on Sept. 21.

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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Players Mentioned

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

#14 Hannah Nelson: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#13 Leah Simmons: MH; 6' 1"; Senior

#1 Melina Woods: RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#4 Bree Long: L; 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#14 Hannah Nelson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#13 Leah Simmons
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MH

#1 Melina Woods
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: RS

#4 Bree Long
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: L