POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Sunday was Senior Day for the Marist volleyball team at McCann Arena, and they went out in style, defeating Saint Peter's 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match. Senior Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) recorded her 1,000th career dig in the first set and became the first player in Marist history to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. She was presented with the game ball after the match.
"I was excited that we could send our seniors out with 3-0 win," head coach Tom Hanna said. "I am extremely happy for Joanna to be the first player in our program's history to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. She has worked extremely hard over the past four and a half years to achieve what she has as well as making our team a perennial MAAC contender."
Foss led the way with match-highs of 16 kills and 14 digs. Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had seven kills, seven digs, 17 assists and was one of three Red Foxes with three blocks, joining Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.). Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) led the team with five total blocks. Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) finished with 20 assists. Marist hit .292 as a team and held the Peahens to a .103 clip.
The Red Foxes started out strong from the get-go, jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the first set. Burton had three kills, Foss had two and a Brady service ace in the early streak. Saint Peter's cut the lead to 9-6, but Marist responded with another run, this time scoring 14 of the next 19 to expand their lead to a comfortable 23-11. Gilbert had three blocks in the run, including a solo block and teamed up with Harridsleff and Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) for two more. Foss added three kills, Burton one and Brady had another service ace. Harridsleff finished the set with a kill, providing the final margin of 25-16. Foss and Burton led the Red Foxes with five and four kills, respectively.
The second set started out much like the first, with the Red Foxes using an early run to take a 10-5 lead. Harridsleff, Burton, Stoiberg and Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) each had a kill while Stoiberg and Brooke Zwyick (Garden City, Mich.) each had a service ace and Gilbert and Harridsleff combined for yet another block. Again, the Peahens worked to cut the lead to three at 14-11, but Marist answered with a 6-1 run that included three kills by Foss and one each from Harridsleff and Hill and a service ace by Chelsea Kennedy (Arcadia, Calif.) to jump ahead at 20-12. The teams traded points until a kill by Gilbert and a Saint Peter's error gave the set to the Red Foxes at 25-17. Foss led all hitters with six kills in the frame.
It was much more of a deadlock in the third set, as the Red Foxes did not grab their first lead until four straight errors by the Peahens made the score 10-7 in favor of Marist. They were able to expand their lead to four at 15-11 due to three kills by Foss and one By Stephanie Robinett (Sugar Land, Texas). Saint Peter's again fought back and took a lead at 20-19, but another kill by Foss and a Burton/Stoiberg block gave the lead back to Marist. With the score knotted at 22, Marist finished the set and the match by scoring the final three points on a kill by Robinett and a kill and service ace by Stoiberg. Foss again led the team with five kills, while Stoiberg had four and Robinett added three.
Marist concluded their season with a 13-15 overall record and 10-8 in the MAAC, good for a tie for fourth in the conference. Canisius won the tie-breaker, by scoring the point differential matchup in the teams' two head-to-head meetings this year, and received the final spot in the MAAC Tournament. Saint Peter's finished 0-30 overall and 0-18 in conference.
