Senior outside hitter Ella Loussia continued to move up in the record book for service aces in a single season as the Canisius volleyball team defeated the Rider Broncs, 3-1.
Canisius won the match by scores of 25-10, 25-22, 18-25, 27-25. With the win the Griffs improved to 11-13 and 9-6 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, while the Broncs record shifted to 8-17 overall and 6-9 in the MAAC.
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Canisius came out swinging in the first set, opening the match with a 7-0 run that saw Loussia notch two service aces with sophomore outside hitters Taylor Baldwin and Kara Zaucha each adding kills of their own. The Griffs never looked back, closing out the set with back-to-back service aces from Zaucha to win the opening frame, 25-10, and take the 1-0 match lead.
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Loussia made history at the start of the second set, notching back-to-back service aces to bring her season total to 52 and pass Leigh Launhardt, who had 51 during the 2002 season, for third place on the Griffs single-season chart. The rest of the set was a back-and-forth affair until the end, when freshman setter Ella Bourque connected with Baldwin for a kill to score the set-winning point, giving the Griffs a 25-22 set victory and 2-0 match advantage.
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Th third set was all Rider with the Broncs winning 25-18 and cutting the Griffs lead to 2-1. The Broncs were able to capitalize on seven Griff errors to take the set and post a .200 hitting percentage along the way compared to the .038 attack clip from Canisius.
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Down by as much as seven midway through the fourth set, the Blue and Gold battled back by capitalizing on multiple Broncs attack errors while also using kills from junior right side Alexa Albinson, Baldwin and Zaucha to tie the match, 19-19. The two sides would exchange points until Albinson ended the set and match with her eighth kill of the day to give Canisius the 27-25 set victory and a 3-1 match triumph.
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Loussia nearly recorded a triple-double with 16 kills, 16 digs and eight service aces. Zaucha posted a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs In the contest, one less of senior libero Bree Long who had a team-high 19 digs.  At the net, Albinson paced the Griffs with four total blocks.
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For the Broncs, Tori Schrader led the way with 13 kills while her teammate Julia Slivika had 22 assists in the loss. As a team, Rider posted a hitting percentage of .180 (45-18-150).
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Match Notes
• In the first set, the Griffs hit at a clip of .367, nearly .300 better than rider who hit at .071
• This is the second time this season and first time on the road that the Griffs have held an opponent to ten or less points in a set.
• The first instance was on Sept. 25 when the Griffs defeated Niagara 25-8 in the third set at home.
• This was the second consecutive match for the Griffs where at least one set went beyond the 25-point threshold.
• With 45 assists in the contest, Bourque posted 40-or-more assists for the ninth time this season
• Loussia's eight service aces in the match set a new career high. Her previous career high of six came earlier this season on Oct. 8 also against Rider.
• Loussia brought her season total for service aces to 56. She needs two to break the record of 57 set by her former teammate Hannah Nelson during the 2019 season.
Up Next:
The Griffs are back on the court Sunday as they conclude their Garden State trip with a match against Saint Peter's. Opening serve is set for 1 p.m. with the match streaming on the Peacocks Digital Network.
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