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Canisius University Athletics

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Melina Woods
Dean Bogart
0
Canisius CAN 2-2
3
Winner St. John's SJU 2-3
Canisius CAN
2-2
0
Final
3
St. John's SJU
2-3
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 20 21 15 (0)
St. John's SJU 25 25 25 (3)
3
Winner Howard HOW 2-4
0
Canisius CAN 2-3
Winner
Howard HOW
2-4
3
Final
0
Canisius CAN
2-3
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Howard HOW 25 25 25 (3)
Canisius CAN 19 16 20 (0)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball Suffers Pair of Losses at Jack Kaiser Classic

On the first day of the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic, the Canisius volleyball team was swept in both of its matches at Carnesecca Arena and Taffner Fieldhouse in Queens, N.Y. The tournament host, St. John's, took down the Golden Griffins in straight sets (20-25, 21-25, 15-25) to start the afternoon before Howard defeated the Griffs, 3-0 (19-25, 16-25, 20-25), in the nightcap.
 
Canisius fell to 2-3 on the season, while St. John's improved to 3-4 and Howard shifted to 2-4.
 
Game One Recap
Leading the Griffs in the opening match was senior Leah Simmons with eight kills and two block assists. Sophomore Melina Woods provided support in the form of seven kills and five digs, while fellow sophomore Hannah Nelson notched five kills and a pair of digs. Senior Gabrielle Darnaby also recorded four kills, two digs and two service aces. Senior Cassidy Ceriani paced the Blue and Gold with 23 assists, also registering eight digs and three kills, while freshman Bree Long finished with eight digs and a service ace.
 
For the Red Storm, Efrosini Alexakou tallied 16 kills and Klara Mikelova followed with nine kills, as both players recorded six digs as well. Erica Di Maulo had 31 assists, while Amanda Sanabia dug 17 balls in addition to two aces.
 
In the first set, the Griffs fought back to take a 16-14 lead off of a six-point run but St. John's responded and eventually closed out on a 4-0 stretch to take the opening frame, 25-20, despite Woods tallying four of her seven kills during the first stanza.

The second set opened with two-straight Canisius points, but a 6-1 run by the Red Storm gave St. John's a lead which they never surrendered, as the Griffs could not even the score in a 25-21 set-two loss.
 
The third set saw Canisius strike first before St. John's used a pair of runs to jump out in front, 10-2. The Griffs responded with four-straight points to cut the lead, but a 6-0 stretch by the home team put Canisius down for good, as the Red Storm cruised to a 25-15 victory in the set to cap off the sweep.
 
Game Two Recap
Woods continued to be a force in the second half of the Blue and Gold's day as the sophomore racked up 11 kills against Howard, recording four digs and an ace as well. Darnaby and Simmons also provided offense for Canisius as Darnaby had eight kills, three digs and two assists while Simmons accounted for seven kills and two service aces. Ceriani was an all-around weapon again, recording 29 assists, seven digs, three kills and an ace. Long finished with seven digs herself, while fellow freshman Camille Vanleer had two block assists and a solo block.
 
Jurnee Tipton was the focal point for Howard, notching 15 kills in the contest, and Kira Porter also starred for the Bison with nine kills and two aces. Kayla Diaz (21) and Semira Blair (20) both tallied 20-plus assists, while Abby Morrow led the team by recording nine digs.
 
Opening the first set by establishing a 10-5 advantage, Howard saw the Griffs tie the frame on a 5-0 run that was capped off by two kills from Darnaby. Unfortunately for Canisius, Howard retook the lead and never relinquished it, winning the opening frame, 25-19.

The second set did not fare much better for the Blue and Gold, as Canisius kept it close early on until a six-point surge from the Bison switched the lead to 13-9 in Howard's favor. The Griffs would not hold a lead the rest of the set, as Howard took home a 25-16 victory.
 
Despite grabbing a 12-9 advantage after four early lead changes, the third set had Canisius give up a 4-0 run to Howard that ended the Griffs' edge and put the Bison on top. Howard used that lead to post the eventual 25-20 set win over the Blue and Gold, taking the match with it.
 
Head Coach Lenika Vazquez's Postgame Comments
"We could have done better."
 
Game Notes
• Friday was the fifth meeting between the Griffs and Red Storm, as St. John's remained undefeated following Friday's sweep.
• The meeting between Canisius and Howard on Friday evened the all-time series at 2-2.
• The 11 kills against Howard was Woods' 12th career match with double-digit kills.
• Vanleer has recorded multiple blocks in each of her first five contests with the Griffs.
• Before both contests on Friday, the last time Canisius was held without a single player recording 10-plus digs was the 3-0 win at Niagara on Oct. 18, 2018.
 
Up Next
The Griffs finish up the Jack Kaiser Classic on Saturday with a noon contest against Columbia.
 
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