SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Joanna Foss (Northville, Mich.) had a team-high 11 kills Friday night, but it was not enough as the Marist volleyball team lost in straight sets (20-25, 10-25, 17-25) to Cal State Northridge in the Sacramento State Invitational.
In the first set, Northridge jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Marist fought back, scoring the next four points and eventually tied the score at 5-5 on a kill by Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) and two by Foss. Kills by Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) helped keep the score deadlocked until ten apiece, but the Matadors scored six of the next eight points to take a 16-12 lead. Mackenzie Stephens (Holland, Mich.) brought the Red Foxes within three with a kill of her own, but that is as close as Marist would get as Northridge went on to win the set 25-20. Foss had 5 kills in the set to lead the Red Foxes.
Foss kept rolling into the second set, helping Marist take an early 4-2 lead with a kill, along with three Northridge attack errors. After the Matadors regained the lead at 7-5, Foss and Stoiberg had back-to-back kills to knot the score again. However, Northridge had three seperate streaks of five consecutive points to put the set away. A service ace by Mariah Counts gave the Matadors the 25-10 set win.
The Red Foxes could not break through in the third set as Northridge broke out with a 6-0 lead. Gilbert put a stop to the streak and a kill by Foss and two by Stoiberg brought Marist within three at 8-5. Northridge would not let them get any closer however, scoring 15 of the next 24 points to take a commanding 23-14 lead. Two errors and a Stoiberg service ace was not enough for a comeback as kill by Puneet Pataria finished off the set and the match.
Stoiberg finished with a team 12 digs, along with four blocks and eight assists. Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) had 11 assists and Stephens contributed six blocks.
The Red Foxes continue play in the Sacramento State Invitational with two matches on Saturday against host Sacramento State at 3:30 p.m. and Fresno State at 8 p.m.
