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Canisius University Athletics

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Elle Shult digs a ball in a home match against Duquesne in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 10, 2021.
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3
Winner Rider Rider 10-10,8-3 MAAC
2
Canisius Canis 6-13,6-4 MAAC
Winner
Rider Rider
10-10,8-3 MAAC
3
Final
2
Canisius Canis
6-13,6-4 MAAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Rider Rider 25 23 16 25 15 (3)
Canisius Canis 20 25 25 15 12 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Rider Takes Down Volleyball in Five Sets

Rider junior Morgan Romano recorded a match-high 24 kills, including the final two points for her team in the fifth and deciding set, to help lead the visiting Broncs to a 3-2 win over Canisius in MAAC volleyball action Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center. Rider won the match by scores of 25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 25-15 and 15-12 to improve to 10-10 overall and 8-3 in conference action, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 6-13 overall and 6-4 in league matches with the loss.
 
For Canisius, junior Ella Loussia led the way with 16 kills and senior Camila Vazquez was good for 10 kills in the loss. The defeat ended Canisius' two-match win streak, which included a four-set victory over Saint Peter's at home on Saturday afternoon.
 
MATCH RECAP
After falling in the first set to Rider by the score of 25-20, Canisius took the next two frames to hold a 2-1 lead in the match. In the second set, the Griffs trailed 16-14 before the Blue and Gold went on an 8-0 scoring run, which was started by a kill from freshman Kara Zaucha. Back-to-back kills from Vazquez and senior Rachel Kinney put Canisius in the lead at 22-16, and after Rider ended the Griffs' scoring run on a kill by Romano, Canisius answered with another kill by Vazquez to stretch the home team's lead back to six in the set. Rider was able to hold off Canisius on set-point with five straight points to make the score 24-22, but the Griffs ended up winning the second set 25-22 to send the match into intermission tied at 1-1 thanks to a kill by Loussia off an assist from senior setter Ashley Kekeisen.
 
In the third set victory for Canisius, senior Hannah Nelson helped fuel the Griffs' attack with four kills and a service ace, while Loussia and Kinney combined to put down seven kills. Canisius hit .343 as a team in that frame against Rider's .154 attack percentage.
 
The Broncs responded by taking the fourth set and forcing a deciding fifth set thanks to a 25-15 victory, where Romano was credited with six kills. In the fifth set, Canisius held a 10-9 lead after Zaucha posted one of her seven kills on the day, but Rider took advantage of two Canisius attack errors in a 3-0 scoring run that put the Broncs ahead for good at 12-10 en route to the 15-12 win and the overall match victory.
 
Loussia ended the day with her 16 kills on 34 swings for an attack percentage of .412 to go with two digs, an assist and a block assist. Junior Elle Shult added a season-high eight kills to go with six block assists and three digs in the losing effort, while Zaucha recorded six block assists as well for the Blue and Gold. Kekeisen led the way for Canisius with 27 assists and freshman Avery Dole posted 20 assists and a season-high 12 digs. Junior libero Bree Long was credited with 17 digs, four assists and an ace as well for the Griffs.  
 
GAME NOTES
• Despite the loss, Canisius leads the all-time series against Rider in volleyball by a 30-14 count.
• Sunday marked the Griffs' fourth five-set match of the season, and the team is 3-1 in those four contests.
• Loussia has recorded 10-plus kills in seven-straight matches.
• Zaucha's seven total blocks are the most for her in a match this season.
• The 27 assists for Kekeisen marks the seventh time this year where she's been credited with 20-plus assists in a match.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will travel to the state of Connecticut for its next two matches, starting Oct. 23 when the Griffs play at Quinnipiac. The Blue and Gold will also visit Fairfield Oct. 24 to close out the regular-season series against both MAAC rivals.
 
For complete coverage of Canisius volleyball, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram.
 
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