POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Brooke Zywick had a career-high 23 digs, but it was not enough as Niagara held off the Marist volleyball team 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 21-25, 27-25, 10-15) in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match at McCann Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Foxes (6-10 overall, 3-3 MAAC) took an early lead in the fifth set on a block by Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) and Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) and a service ace by Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif). The Purple Eagles (12-7 overall, 6-0 MAAC) took over control from there however, working to tie the score at four-apiece and then take an 8-5 lead. A kill by Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) helped Marist fight within one at 8-7, but Niagara scored seven of the final ten points to take the decisive set 15-10.
Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) led all players with the 23 digs. Grace Hill (Portage, Mich) had 12 kills and 17 digs and Stoiberg had a triple-double with 11 kills, 18 assists and 10 digs. Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) had 27 assists and 10 digs. Gilbert had six blocks and Harridsleff had five.
Marist started the match off well, scoring the first three points, but Niagara responded with a four-point run of their own, taking a 4-3 lead. The Purple Eagles kept on, going on a 5-2 run from there to expand their lead to 9-5. The Red Foxes could only close within four at 16-12 on a Gilbert kill as Niagara closed out the set at 25-17.
The Red Foxes never trailed in the second set, jumping out early, in part due to a Brady service ace and kills by Hill, Stoiberg and Gilbert, to a 10-6 lead. Niagara used a 4-1 run to pull within one at 11-10, but Marist expanded their lead to 16-12, scoring five of the next seven. The teams traded points for the rest of the set until Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) provided two kills to give the final margin of 25-19.
In the third set, Marist was continually fighting to hold Niagara at bay, as there was 11 scoring ties in the set. The Red Foxes trailed only once until the Purple Eagles scored five consecutive points late in the set to grab a 23-20 lead. After a kill by Hill brought Marist within two, Kari Honomichl recorded back-to-back kills to finish the frame.
The fourth set provided the most drama as the Red Foxes lost a late lead and had to fight off two match-points from the Purple Eagles before scoring three straight points, kills by Harridsleff and Foss, to win 27-25 and force the fifth set. Marist led by as much as five at 15-10 when they scored consecutive points on a kill by Hill and another block by Gilbert and Harridsleff. Marist held a lead until as late as 23-21 on another kill by Hill before Niagara scored four in a row to set up the late heroics.
The Red Foxes look to bounce back tomorrow when they host Canisius in a 2 p.m. match.
