Sept. 16, 2008

Final Stats

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist volleyball team won its third straight match Tuesday night, defeating the Hartford Hawks 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 15-13) at the McCann Center. The Red Foxes' defense shined as it held Hartford under .200 hitting in the last four sets. Sophomore Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) led the Marist attack with 16 kills and had 12 digs for a double-double.

Alexandra Schultze (Austin, Texas) chipped in 13 kills. Senior Kelsey Schaefer (Maria Stein, Ohio) also had 12 digs to tie Foss for the team-lead. Freshman Cassie Campbell (Canton, Ohio) had 11 digs and sophomore Raeanna Gutkowski (Long Valley, N.J.) came off the bench and set two new career highs with eight digs and three service aces. Lindsey Schmid (Austin, Texas) had a team-high seven blocks with Dawn Jan (Belleville, N.J.) getting in on four blocks while accumulating 40 assists.

Hartford (3-7) took control of the opening set right from the start with Sarah Boss getting an ace on the first point. The Hawks poured it on early, going on a 7-0 run at one point to take a 14-4 lead. A Schultze kill ended the Hartford run, with Marist responding with a 4-0 run off Campbell's serve to get within six at 15-9. The Red Foxes got within five at 20-15 with a Foss kill, but Hartford stretched the lead back to seven with a kill from Lindsay Ford and a solo block from Sydney Scott. Marist's seven hitting errors got the best of them in the first set, as back-to-back errors gave the Hawks a 25-16 win in the first set.

The Hawks kept the momentum into the second set, taking an early 8-4 lead. Marist responded promptly with a 3-0 run highlighted by consecutive kills from Schultze to get within one at 8-7. Hartford led for much of the set, getting within three points of taking the set at 22-18 with a block by Scott and Lindsay Makowicki. Schultze and Schmid combined for a block on the next point to make the score 22-19. Marist tied the match at 23-23 with a Foss kill and took its first lead at 24-23 with a Schmid kill off of an overpass. A Hartford attack error allowed Marist to with the set 25-23 and even the match at one set apiece.

Marist (5-8) and Hartford traded points to start the third set, playing to a 7-7 tie. The Red Foxes broke the set open with a 5-0 run highlighted by consecutive service aces from Gutkowski to take a 12-7 lead. The Hawks battled back to tie the set at 16-16, but Marist put them away in the third set with a key 7-1 run that gave the Red Foxes a 23-17 lead. Schaefer put the cap on a third set victory for Marist, putting down a kill to win 25-19 and take a 2-1 advantage.

It was the Red Foxes with the early momentum in the fourth set, taking an 11-7 lead behind a balanced attack. Hartford went on a 6-2 lead, highlighted by three kills from Erin Macro, to tie the set at 13-13. A Ford service ace gave the Hawks their first lead of the set at 14-13, and two more Macro kills put them ahead 16-13. Hartford expanded the lead to six at 22-16 before winning the set 25-21.

The fifth set was a back and forth affair that had seven ties and three lead changes. With the set tied at 10-10, Marist ran off three straight points with kills from Schultze and Schmid, as well as a block from Schmid and Schaefer, to take a 13-10 lead. Hartford took advantage of a pair of Marist errors to close to within one point at 13-12 but a Foss kill put the Red Foxes back up by two at 14-12. After a Macro kill, Foss clinched the match for Marist with a kill to win the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Both teams' defenses held the other in check, as Marist hit only .100 to Hartford's .073. Hartford held a 14-10 advantage in blocks and a 61-57 advantage in digs. The Red Foxes hit at the right time in the match, hitting a match-high .227 in the fifth set while holding the Hawks to a .000 hitting percentage. Macro led Hartford with 15 kills as teammate Hallie Fullagar added 11. Libero Sarah Boss led all players with 15 digs, while Scott led all players with eight blocks.

The Red Foxes open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Niagara. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Gallagher Center.