POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Redshirt senior
Joanna Foss had a match-high 19 kills and an astounding .484 hitting percentage, leading the Red Foxes to a straight set victory (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) over Iona in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Sunday afternoon at McCann Arena.
"That was a pretty good day in the office. [Joanna] is capable of that, and we always knew that," Red Foxes head coach Tom Hanna said. "We know that she can be dominant from the left side in this conference. When push comes to shove, when we have to put the ball on the left side, we will have a good chance to win."
Marist (6-8 overall, 3-1 MAAC) came out strong, never trailing in the first set. Foss (Northville, Mich.) started things off with two quick kills to grab the lead. After the Gaels worked to pull within one at 6-5, the Red Foxes score four unanswered on a kill by Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) and two more by Foss. Marist would extend their lead to eight at 16-8 on back-to-back kills by Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). Iona (5-7 overall, 2-2 MAAC) worked to cut the lead to 24-20 on a kill by Molly O'Shea, but Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) finished it off with a kill. Foss finished with seven kills in the set and the Red Foxes hit .317 as a team.
The Gaels came back with a vengeance in the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage. The Red Foxes however, would go on a 17-5 run to take a commanding lead, including runs of four and five consecutive points. Leading the charge was Foss with six kills, while Hill had two and Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) had back-to-back service aces. Iona made a late run again, scoring four straight to close the score to 24-19, but a kill by Harridsleff shut the door. Foss had six kills in the set and Hill added five.
The third set started out similar to the second as Iona scored five out of six points to take a 7-3 lead. The Red Foxes would again battle back, scoring six consecutive points and 9 of 11 to jump ahead 12-9. Foss, Stoiberg, Harridsleff and Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) all contributed kills in the run. The teams traded several points before the Gaels eventually tied the score at 18. Coming out of a timeout, the Red Foxes responded with another run of six straight points, to bring the score to match point at 24-19. Following an Iona point, Foss fittingly won it with her 19th kill of the afternoon. Both Foss and Stoiberg had six kills in the set and the Red Foxes had a .467 hitting percentage.
Foss added 11 digs to complete the double-double effort. Stoiberg had a double-double of her own, finishing with 11 kills and 17 assists. Brady had 22 assists and Hill contributed eight kills and a match-high 16 digs.
"We are very happy about being 3-1 in the MAAC," Hanna said. "It was a great performance today. We are very happy to have been able to win in three and take care of our business. We know we are able to play at a high level for a long period of time and we did that today."
Marist hits the road for a mid-week game at Sienna Thursday night at 7. The Red Foxes then take next weekend off before returning to McCann Arena Oct. 8-9 against Niagara and Canisius.
