Volleyball Ends Non-Conference Play at Blue and White Classic

MATCH #10
Canisius (2-7) vs. Cornell (4-2)
Date: Friday, Sept. 20
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: YouTube

MATCH #11
Canisius vs. St. Francis (Pa.) (0-9)
Date: Friday, Sept. 20
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Live Video: YouTube

MATCH #12
Canisius vs. Buffalo (2-7)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats

Location: Alumni Arena (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Returning to Western New York, the Canisius volleyball team is set to head up Main Street to Buffalo's Blue and White Classic this weekend. Going into their final three non-conference matches before MAAC play begins, the Golden Griffins start the tournament by facing Cornell at 10:30 a.m., and ending Friday with a 4 p.m. contest with St. Francis (Pa.). The Griffs then close out the non-conference slate with a 12:30 p.m. meeting with the crosstown Bulls on Saturday.

Scouting Canisius
• The Blue and Gold were unable to pull out a win at the Charm City Challenge hosted by Loyola (Md.) this past weekend, dropping a pair of 3-1 contests to the Greyhounds and UMBC before taking Charlotte to five sets on Saturday.
• Senior Cassidy Ceriani had a weekend to remember as the setter tallied 116 assists, 56 digs and 17 kills en route to being named to the all-tournament team and the MAAC Player of the Week. The senior also became the third Canisius player to reach 3,000 career assists during Saturday's match and had a career-best 25 digs in the contest as well.
• Fellow senior Leah Simmons continued to lead the Griffs' offense with 40 kills on the weekend, putting the middle hitter at 103 kills on the season with a .255 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore Hannah Nelson and senior Gabrielle Darnaby both recorded double-doubles against Charlotte, as Nelson posted career highs with 15 kills and 15 digs while Darnaby had 11 kills and 17 digs. Darnaby also posted a career-best 14 kills against Loyola on Friday.

Scouting the Opponents
• Cornell enters the weekend with four wins, including sweeps over Youngstown State, Utah State and Canisius' long-time rival Niagara, while both losses for the Big Red went five sets. Jada Stackhouse and Jillienne Bennett lead the team with 49 and 48 kills, respectively. Emma Worthington and Zoe Chamness both have over 100 assists for Cornell, with Worthington at 130 and Chamness at 114.
• Seven of St. Francis' nine losses have been three-set sweeps, including a Sept. 6 loss to UMBC. Madia Tyus paces the Red Flash with 80 kills and 61 digs, while Kimmy Sweeney has 155 assists and 45 digs. Cecilia Esposito has notched 17 total blocks this campaign so far.
• The Bulls, despite sitting at the same record as the Griffs, have picked up wins against Marist and College of Charleston while facing competition like Alabama and California. Polina Prokudina leads Buffalo with 89 kills and Rachel Sanks follows her with 84 kills. Scout McLerran enters the weekend with 211 assists while Paige Beck has tallied 101 digs. Former Saint Peter's middle blocker Kristina Nieves paces UB with 29 blocks, with Lexi Nordmann behind her at 23 blocks.

Series History
• In the all-time series between Canisius and Cornell, the Big Red own a 7-1 edge over the Griffs, last playing in 2003. The lone Canisius win was a 3-1 victory on Sept. 26, 1997.
• The Blue and Gold own a 13-7 lead over St. Francis through 20 meetings between the two schools. The last matchup was a 3-2 Red Flash win on Sept. 4, 2015.
• The crosstown rivalry between Canisius and Buffalo is at 57-7-2 in favor of the Bulls. The last meeting was a five-set win by Buffalo on Aug. 25, 2017, while the Griffs' last win over UB was a 3-1 victory in 2015.

Up Next
The Golden Griffins open their MAAC schedule with a Sept. 24 match at Niagara. That edition of the Battle of the Bridge will begin at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

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

#7 Gabrielle Darnaby: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#7 Gabrielle Darnaby
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

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

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