BALTIMORE, Md. - Redshirt senior
Joanna Foss had 12 kills, moving her up to second all-time on Marist's career kills list, and the Red Foxes hung on to defeat Loyola University Maryland 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 15-9) on Sunday afternoon. The win completes a weekend sweep and puts Marist (5-7 overall, 2-0 MAAC) in a tie for first place in the conference.
Trailing 4-2 in the fifth and decisive set, three straight kills by Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.), a Leann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) kill and a service ace by Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) sparked a 6-1 run to give the Red Foxes a 8-5 lead. After Loyola (4-9 overall, 1-1 MAAC) cut the lead to 11-9, Marist closed out the match with four consecutive points, including a service ace by Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.).
Foss (Northville, Mich.) had a double-double, adding 12 digs, and now has 1,192 career kills. Hill had a match-high 23 kills and Stoiberg finished with 15 kills and 23 assists. Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) had a team-high 21 digs and Brady added 34 assists. The Red Foxes hit .318 as a team, while holding the Greyhounds to a .232 clip.
With the score tied at one in the first set, Marist went on a 10-3 run to take a commanding 11-4 lead. Foss and Hill each contributed a kill in the run, and Stoiberg and Zywick had a kill and a service ace apiece. After both teams traded points, the Red Foxes went on another run, outscoring the Greyhounds 5-1 to expand the lead to 18-7. Two kills by Stoiberg, one by Hill and a Foss service ace highlighted this run. The Red Foxes committed only one attacking error, hitting .583 in the set.
Marist carried its hot hitting into the second set, using two kills by Hill and a service ace by Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) to jump out to a 4-1 lead. Loyola would close the lead to 8-7, but two Stoiberg kills and two Greyhound errors extended the lead to 12-7. The two teams would play back and forth for several points, until the Greyhound again cut the lead to one at 24-23. However, a Loyola service error put a stop to the comeback and gave the set to Marist.
Loyola took an early 2-0 lead on kills by Jac Bullock and Elena Frac, marking the first time the Red Foxes had trailed in the match. A kill by Harridleff eventually tied the score at seven, but the Greyhounds would score eight of the next nine points to take a commanding 15-8 lead. Marist would fight to cut the deficit to 19-17 on three straight kills by Harridsleff, Stoiberg and Foss, but Janet Pressler had a kill and back-to-back service aces to pull ahead again by five. After a Burton kill closed it to 24-22, a Bullock kill gave the set to Loyola.
The Red Foxes jumped out with three consecutive points in the fourth set, but Loyola responded with a run of their own, scoring five straight to take a 5-3 lead. A kill by Hill brought Marist within one at 13-12, but that is as close as they would get as Loyola would maintain a lead of at least two the rest of the way. With the score 22-20, the Greyhounds scored the final three points to set up the final set.
"We achieved our goal of coming home 2-0 with at least a share of first place in the MAAC," head coach Tom Hanna said. "We are excited to have some home matches this weekend and look forward to a great week of training."
The Red Foxes return to the newly renovated McCann Arena for their home opener against Fairfield on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Two days later, Iona comes to Poughkeepsie for a 2 p.m. match. Both matches are part of Alumni Weekend at Marist.
