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Rachel Kinney waits to receive a serve in Canisius' home match against Duquesne Sept. 10, 2021.
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Niagara Niag 13-15,10-8 MAAC
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Winner Canisius Canis 11-17,10-8 MAAC
Niagara Niag
13-15,10-8 MAAC
1
Final
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Canisius Canis
11-17,10-8 MAAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Niagara Niag 24 17 25 17 (1)
Canisius Canis 26 25 20 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball Advances to MAAC Semifinals with 3-1 Win Over Niagara

Canisius senior Rachel Kinney pounded down a career-high 21 kills and fellow senior Hannah Nelson added 14 kills and a season-high 20 digs to help lead the fourth-seeded Golden Griffins to a 3-1 win over No. 5 seed Niagara in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 MAAC Volleyball Championship at UHY Center in Loudonville, N.Y.
 
With the win, Canisius (11-17) moves on to the MAAC Volleyball Championship semifinal round on Saturday, where the Blue and Gold will meet top-seeded Fairfield at 4 p.m. The Purple Eagles see their season come to an end with an overall record of 13-15.
 
MATCH RECAP
Canisius jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the match after taking set one by a score of 26-24, then coming back to win the second set, 25-17. In the first set, Canisius trailed 9-4 early on, but a 6-1 run midway through the stanza put the Griffs up 14-13. Canisius maintained the lead until set point, when Niagara scored back-to-back points to knot the set at 24-24. The Griffs ended up taking the 1-0 lead in the match after Nelson put down a kill and Niagara committed an attack error to give the Griffs the victory.
 
In the second set, Kinney was good for eight kills as the Griffs hit .300 for the frame to score the 25-17 victory, sending the Blue and Gold into the intermission up 2-0. Niagara battled back to extend the match with a 20-25 victory in the third set, but Canisius closed out the contest thanks to eight more kills from Kinney. For the match, Canisius hit .258 as a team, while Niagara posted a team attack percentage of .198.
 
Senior setter Ashley Kekeisen fueled the Canisius offense with her career-high 55 assists in the victory, and she also posted a team-high 27 digs in the winning effort as well. Kinney added 17 digs and two service aces to her final stat line, and freshman Kara Zaucha, who was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team on Thursday morning, recorded 13 kills and nine digs. Nelson added three service aces to the Griffs' winning cause, and senior Camila Vazquez chipped in 12 kills, a solo block and a block assist as Canisius recorded 11 total blocks as a team in the contest.
 
GAME NOTES
• Friday's meeting was the 109th in series history between these two long-time rivals. Canisius leads the all-time series 56-51-2.
• Friday also marked the fifth time Canisius and Niagara met in the MAAC Volleyball Championship. Canisius leads that portion of the series by a 3-2 count.
• The 21-kill effort for stands as her first career match with 20-or more kills.
• Kekeisen has recorded 40-or more assists in four of the team's last eight matches.
• Zaucha has been good for 10-or more kills in three matches this season, and the Griffs won all three of those contests.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will meet top-seeded Fairfield at 4 p.m., in the 2021 MAAC Volleyball Championship semifinal round. That contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fairfield advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over No. 8 seed Siena earlier on Friday.
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