Sept. 20, 2008
Final Stats
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - The Marist volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches on Saturday afternoon, winning its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at the Gallagher Center 3-2 (27-25, 25-18, 15-25, 18-25, 16-14) over Niagara. Sophomore Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) led the Marist attack with 16 kills and hit .268.
Lindsey Schmid (Austin, Texas) had 14 kills and hit a team-high .360. She also led Marist with four service aces. Junior Alexandra Schultze (Austin, Texas) also had double-digit kills, putting down 12 kills. Defensively, freshman Cassie Campbell (Canton, Ohio) had a career-high 13 digs with Kelsey Schaefer (Maria Stein, Ohio) adding 11.
Marist (6-8, 1-0 MAAC) took the early lead in the first set as Schaefer and Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) combined for a block to take a 7-5 lead. Niagara battled to tie the set at 8-8 and the two teams traded points to tie the set at 13-13. The Red Foxes then went on a 7-2 run highlighted by a pair of Schmid kills to take their largest lead of the match, 20-15. The Purple Eagles came back with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 20-20. Marist and Niagara traded points to get to 25-25 when a Schmid kill gave the Red Foxes a 26-25 lead. A Kathy Bibler attack error gave Marist the win in the first set 27-25.
After hitting .343 in the opening set, the Red Foxes continued their consistent attack in the second set. Marist took the lead, 12-7, on a Foss kill but just as in the first set, the Purple Eagles went on a 5-0 lead to tie the set at 12-12. Marist took the lead for good at 15-14 with a kill from Schultze. Schmid followed that up with a kill of her own to give the Red Foxes a 16-14 lead. Niagara got as close as three at 21-18, but a Schaefer kill sparked a 4-0 run that gave Marist the second set 25-18 and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Red Foxes hit .316 in the second set and held Niagara to a .034 hitting percentage.
Niagara (1-10, 0-1 MAAC) would not go away quietly on their home floor Saturday. The Purple Eagles hit .583 with 14 kills and no errors in the third set, dominating their way to a 25-15 win. Marist was no match for Niagara in the third set, hitting -.034 with eight kills and nine errors. The Purple Eagles continued their hot hitting in the fourth set, hitting .471 with 17 kills and one errors to win the fourth set 25-18 and even the match at 2-2.
The Purple Eagles took the early lead in the deciding fifth set, taking three of the first four points and turning that into an 8-6 lead. Marist came back to tie the set at 9-9 and took the lead with a Schmid kill to go ahead 10-9. The two teams would not give in in the fifth set, trading points to get to 14-14. Schmid would close out the match for Marist with back to back kills, giving the Red Foxes a 16-14 win the set and a 3-2 win in the match.
Marist hit .213 for the match and .357 in the deciding fifth set. Niagara outhit the Red Foxes with a .286 hitting percentage. The Purple Eagles also held a 6.5-2 advantage in blocks with both teams recording 54 digs. Lauren Costello led Niagara, as well as all players, with 19 kills and hit .424 for the match. Shannon Ryan added 13 kills and hit .440 and had five service aces. Hannah Hedrick had 10 kills and 14 digs for a double-double.
The Red Foxes continue their weekend roadtrip on Sunday at Canisius. First serve at the Koessler Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
