NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - The Marist volleyball team dropped their fourth consecutive match on Sunday afternoon 3-0 (18-25, 25-27, 17-25) at Niagara in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match.
Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) led the Red Foxes with 11 kills and Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) had a team-high 13 digs. Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) had five kills and four total blocks, Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) finished with 20 assists, and Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) contributed with 11 digs.
Marist (11-15, 8-8 MAAC) started out well, taking an 8-5 lead in the first set on a block by Hill and Gilbert, a solo block by Gilbert, and kills by Hill and Foss. From there however, Niagara (21-8, 15-1 MAAC) went on a 15-4 run to take command of the set at 20-12. The Red Foxes went on a run late in the set, scoring five of seven to cut the score to 24-18, including kills by Foss and Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) and two blocks by Burton and Stoiberg. It was too late however, as the Purple Eagles closed out the set on a kill.
The second set went back-and-forth the entire time, with each team going on significant point streaks. With Niagara leading early 3-2, Foss had three kills in a 4-1 Marist run to give them a 6-4 advantage. The Purple Eagles would then grab the lead back at 11-8 with a 7-2 run. The Red Foxes would then explode to a lead of 19-14, using separate streaks of four and five consecutive points. Hill and Gilbert each had two kills in the run, Burton and Foss each had one, Chelsea Kennedy (Arcadia, Calif.) had her first career kill and Gilbert teamed up with Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) for back-to-back blocks. Niagara would come right back however, scoring nine of the next 12 to seize the lead again at 23-22. A Gilbert kill tied the score, but the Purple Eagles scored four of the final six points to win the back-and-forth frame 27-25. Foss had five kills and Gilbert had three kills and two blocks in the set.
Stoiberg and Hill each had two kills as the Red Foxes jumped out again to an early lead in the third set at 5-2. Kills by Harridsleff, Gilbert and Foss helped Marist maintain a lead for a while, but Niagara eventually worked to take the lead at 11-10. After another kill by Foss tied the score, the Purple Eagles went on another monster run of 11-2 to take control at 22-13. The teams would trade points, but the Red Foxes could not mount any kind of a comeback and Niagara took the third and final set 25-17. Foss had four kills to again lead Marist.
The Red Foxes will conclude their regular season schedule next weekend with their final home games of 2011. Manhattan and Saint Peter's visit McCann Arena on Saturday and Sunday for 2 p.m. matches. Head coach Tom Hanna and the rest of the team will celebrate the team's seniors prior to Sunday's match with Saint Peter's.
