POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) had a double-double performance with 11 kills and 11 digs to lead the Marist volleyball team to a 3-1 victory (25-17, 21-25, 25-13, 25-15) over Loyola (Md.) Saturday evening in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match at McCann Arena.
Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) finished with nine kills and 11 digs and Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) also contributed nine kills. Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 20 and 19 assists, respectively, while Brooke Zywick added a team-high 13 digs. Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) and Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) each had two solo blocks and Gilbert finished with seven total blocks.
After the Greyhounds (6-18, 3-8 MAAC) closed the Marist lead to 8-6 in the first set, the Red Foxes (10-11, 7-4 MAAC) went on a 6-1 run to expand the advantage to a comfortable 14-7. Gilbert and Hill each had a kill in the run and Gilbert added a block with Foss. The Red Foxes would not let the Greyhounds get any closer than five points the rest of the set as back-to-back kills by Harridsleff and Foss finished the set for the Red Foxes. Marist hit at a .429 clip for the set and Foss and Stoiberg each had three kills to lead the team.
Three consecutive kills by Hill helped the Red Foxes take an early 5-2 lead in the second set. Loyola however, would respond with a streak of five straight points to jump ahead. The two teams played deadlocked until the Greyhounds used another run of four points in a row to take a 22-18 lead. Marist closed the gap to 24-21 on a kill by Foss and a Loyola error, but the Greyhounds would win the set with a block by Mindy Maloney and Faye Lukas. Hill had four kills in the frame for Marist.
The Red Foxes came out in the third set re-energized from the beginning. A solo block by Gilbert started off a 5-0 run, including back-to-back blocks by Harridsleff and Gilbert and Gilbert and Hill, to take a 13-6 lead. A few points later Marist went on another streak, this one giving the Red Foxes six consecutive points, to take a commanding 21-9 lead. Kills by Burton and Foss and a Brady service ace contributed to the run. Another kill by Burton and a service ace by Gena Russo (Rensselaer, N.Y.) eventually won the set for Marist 25-13. Burton, Foss and Harridsleff all had three kills in the set and the Red Foxes had a .450 hitting percentage as a team.
Marist carried the momentum into the fourth set. Holding onto a slim lead at 9-8, Harridsleff had three kills and teamed with Burton for a block in a Marist 5-1 run to expand the gap to 14-9. After a couple of points by the Greyhounds, the Red Foxes went another 5-2 run to move the score to 19-13. Burton had a kill and a solo block and Hill and Gilbert combined for another block. After the two teams traded points, five consecutive points by the Red Foxes provided the final margin. Foss, Hill and Gilbert each contributed a kill in the final run. Harridsleff had four kills and Foss added three in the decisive set.
Volleyball is back in action tomorrow with a 2 p.m. match against Rider at McCann Arena. Following the match, 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.
