NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) had a match-high 15 kills and 10 digs, leading the Marist volleyball team to a straight set victory over Iona (25-15, 25-21, 25-23) in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match at Iona's Hynes Center.
Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) also had a double-double effort with 13 kills and 12 digs. Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) had a match-high 17 digs and Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 26 and 16 assists, respectively. As a team, the Red Foxes had seven team blocks and seven service aces.
After Iona (9-9, 6-4 MAAC) tied the score at three in the first set, the Red Foxes (9-11, 6-4) went on a 7-2 run to take a 10-5 lead. Stoiberg started the run with a kill and added a service ace to go along with a block by Hill and Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) and kills by Gilbert and Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.). Marist used two separate runs of three straight points to expand their lead to 19-9 on three kills by Hill, two by Stoiberg and one by Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.). Hill eventually ended the set at 25-15 with her fifth kill of the set. The Red Foxes hit .500 as a team in the frame.
The Gaels took an early 6-4 advantage in the second set, but the Red Foxes responded with a 9-1 run, including six consecutive points on three Iona errors, a kill by Foss and back-to-back service aces by Hill to take the lead at 13-7. After Iona closed the gap to 13-10, a kill by Harridsleff started another 5-1 run that included kills by Foss and Hill, a service ace by Brady and a Hill solo block. The Gaels worked to close within two at 23-21, but Marist hung on with a Foss kill and a block by Hill and Burton to win the frame. Foss led the Red Foxes in the second set with six kills.
The third set was a struggle as Marist fought to close out the straight set victory. A block by Gilbert and Harridsleff gave the Red Foxes their first lead of the set at 13-12, finishing a 3-0 run that included kills by Hill and Harridsleff. After an Iona point another streak of 9-4 cushioned the Red Foxes' lead to 22-17. Foss had three kills and Hill had two and a service ace in the stretch. The Gaels responded with a 6-2 run of their own to cut the lead to one at 24-23, but Stoiberg put an end to the comeback with her ninth kill of the match.
"Tonight was a great win for us over a team that is at the top of the MAAC like Iona," head coach Tom Hanna said. "I was very impressed by our team's ability to close out the match after building a 2-0 lead."
Marist returns home this weekend for matches against Loyola and Rider. Both matches are important for the Red Foxes as they fight for a berth in MAAC Tournament. Saturday's match against Loyola will now start at 5 p.m. and Sunday's contest with Rider is at 2 p.m. Following the match versus Rider, the Red Foxes will host a meet and greet on the court where fans will have the opportunity to meet the team and get autographs.
