POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist volleyball team clinched a berth in the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships with a straight-set win over Canisius on Nov. 4 in McCann Arena. The Red Foxes swept the Golden Griffins 25-20, 25-18, 31-29 in their penultimate home match of the year.
 
Marist improved to 13-13 overall and 10-5 in conference competition while Canisius fell to 10-15 overall and 8-7 in MAAC play.   
 
Turning Points:
Sophomore Nikki DeSerpa got the attack moving and helped Marist gain a 4-0 advantage with a trio of kills. Canisius got to within three points a few times down the stretch, but could not handle powerful slams from DeSerpa. She squeezed the ball in between two blockers to give Marist a 20-14 lead. With the help of some more kills from sophomore Megan Fergus the Red Foxes went ahead 1-0 in the contest.
 
Marist ripped off five consecutive points in the second stanza and led 8-4 as every Red Foxes' kill went to either DeSerpa or Fergus. The Red Foxes' lead ballooned to eight before Canisius called a timeout. A pair of kills by senior Ashton Korona and two service aces turned the Golden Griffins aside again.   
 
The score was tied 15 times in the longest set of the year for the Red Foxes. This time it was Canisius which got out to the early edge, going up 4-1. With senior Sydney Rojek serving, the Red Foxes stormed out to an 11-9 lead on a streak of seven straight points. All but three of the points on the scoring spree came off kills. The Golden Griffins continued to claw back, as both sides traded points. Marist had Canisius at set point with the score at 24-22, but the Red Foxes quickly faced a deficit on the next three points. At 29 all, Marist sided out on a kill by junior Mackenzie O'Brien and O'Brien won the match with a service ace on the final play of the afternoon.  
 
Inside the Numbers:
-Marist led 49-31 in kills and hit a season-best .290 as a team.
-DeSerpa (14) and Fergus (12) combined for 26 kills in the contest.
-Three Red Foxes tied for the match high in digs as junior Taylor van der Biezen, senior Kelsey Ediger and junior Katie Brierley dove for eight apiece.
-Junior Lauren Waide tied a season high with six total blocks.
-Sophomore Cassidy Ceriani posted 25 assists, seven digs and three kills for the Golden Griffins.
 
Up Next:
The Red Foxes will host second place Niagara (16-8, 12-3 MAAC) on Senior Day on Nov. 5. A Marist win would keep it in the mix for the no. 2 seed and a first round bye in the postseason.
 
Prior to Marist's final home match of the season Sunday the Red Foxes will honor Ediger, Korona and Rojek for their dedication and commitment to the program.