POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist volleyball team dropped to 13-14 overall and 10-6 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play when it lost to Niagara 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-23, 25-15) on Senior Day.
 
The Purple Eagles locked up the no. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships and improved to 17-8 overall and 13-3 in conference competition after the Nov. 5 contest in McCann Arena.
 
Turning Points:
A 4-0 run early in the first set that included a pair of service aces put Niagara in front 9-5. Marist cut the deficit to a point twice, but the Purple Eagles scored on three straight volleys and got seven of the last eight points to end the stanza.
 
Down by four in the second frame, the Red Foxes tied the score at eight on some kills from sophomore Nikki DeSerpa and a few Niagara attack errors. A slam by sophomore Megan Fergus put Marist at set point but momentum shifted to the Purple Eagles, who tied the score at 24 on two kills and a service ace. The Red Foxes' attack stepped up with kills from senior Ashton Korona and DeSerpa and Marist prevailed to even the match.
 
Both teams continued to trade runs in the third set before Marist took a 10-9 edge on a DeSerpa kill. A 6-0 run by Niagara ensued. The Red Foxes chipped away at the deficit, notching six consecutive points despite interruptions by two Purple Eagles' timeouts. With Marist down 24-23, Niagara freshman Jaycie Roberts found an opening and hammered a kill to end the period.
 
In the final set Niagara jumped out to an 8-1 advantage and never looked back.      
 
Inside the Numbers:
-Three Red Foxes had double-doubles: DeSerpa (15 kills/16 digs), senior Kelsey Ediger (14 kills/17 digs), and junior Taylor van der Biezen (42 assists/18 digs).
-Four of DeSerpa's kills came in the second set.
-Niagara led 7-1 in service aces.
-Roberts posted team highs of 13 kills and two service aces alongside 20 digs for the Purple Eagles.
-There were a total of 172 digs in the match.
 
Quote:
"(Niagara) is so defensively focused that you have to play long rallies against them," Head Coach Lauren Amundson said. "We didn't score as many of those early points as we could have or needed to in order to win today."
 
Up Next:
Marist will conclude the 2017 regular season with a pair of road matches at Iona and Manhattan on Nov. 11 and 12, respectively. First serve for both contests is scheduled for 1 p.m.