Aug. 29, 2008

Final Stats

PITTSBURGH, PA. - After dropping the first two sets at Duquesne on Friday, the Marist volleyball team came back to force a deciding fifth set in its season opener. The Red Foxes hit a combined .301 in the third and fourth sets, but the Dukes held them to a -.077 in the fifth to take it 15-11 and win the match three sets to two at the Palumbo Center. Sophomore outside hitter Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) led Marist with 17 kills and added 10 digs.

Sophomore libero Emily Brosky (Whitehall, Pa.) led the Red Foxes with 15 digs, with senior Kelsey Schaefer (Maria Stein, Ohio) adding 14 kills to go alongside her six kills. Junior setter Dawn Jan (Belleville, N.J.) led all players with 43 assists and added eight digs and three blocks. Freshman Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) had an impressive college debut, leading Marist with five blocks and hit .308 for the match.

After dropping the first set 25-13, Marist got out to a good start in the second set. Kills from Foss, Burton, and Alexandra Schultze (Austin, Texas) helped give the Red Foxes an early 9-7 lead. Marist built on that lead with the help of some Duquesne errors and a Burton kill to take their largest lead, 13-10. The Dukes came back with kills from Amanda Humphrey and Jessica Artman to take the lead 14-13. Marist took the lead back at 20-19 on an Artman error, but Duquesne once again answered with a four point run to take a 23-20 advantage. The Red Foxes fought back to within a point, 23-22, with a key solo block from Lindsey O'Dell (Kingwood, Texas), but Duquesne took the next two points to win the set 25-22.

Down two sets to none, Marist came out on fire in the third set. The Red Foxes hit .367 and held Duquesne to a .100 hitting percentage. Foss led Marist with five kills and a .444 hitting percentage in the set, with Schultze adding three kills. The Red Foxes controlled much of the set, but the Dukes stayed close getting to within one point at 19-18. Marist took over from there, getting two blocks from Burton to key a 6-1 run to end the set 25-19.

The fourth set was a close one with 10 ties. Duquesne jumped out to an early 5-3 lead, but Marist got a kill from Foss and a block from Schultze and Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) to tie the set at five. The two teams would battle to a 23-23 tie, with Marist taking the set 25-23 on back-to-back kills from freshman Cassie Campbell (Canton, Ohio). Duquesne bounced back from their loss in the fourth set by taking the first four points of the fifth set. Taking advantage of some Dukes miscues, Marist got to within two points at 7-5 but that would be as close as the Red Foxes would get. Duquesne hit .235 in the deciding set to win 15-11 and win the match three sets to two.

Duquesne (1-0) was led by Brittany Polling's 15 kills. Tricia Mullen added 14 kills with 17 digs, while Amanda Humphrey and Jessica Artman had 12 and 11 kills respectively. Chelsea Tillotson led the Dukes with 28 assists with Sarah Svorinic adding 24. The Dukes outhit Marist .233 to .161 as well as outdug Marist 63-54. The Red Foxes held the advantage in blocks, 9-6.5.

Marist returns to action at 3 p.m. when it takes on St. Francis (Pa.) in their second match at the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational.