BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – The Marist volleyball team wrapped up its opening weekend in the Christmas city at the Lehigh Fall Classic with a 3-1 loss to Radford (20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-16) and 3-0 win over Coppin State (25-22, 25-14, 25-18) on August 26. The Red Foxes are now 2-1 overall in 2017 while Radford stands at 2-0 and Coppin State is 0-2. Marist won the opening set in both of its matches today, which were played back to back.

Sophomore Megan Fergus was the Red Foxes' lone representative on the All-Tournament Team. 
 
Turning Points (Radford):
Eight of the match's first 13 points were earned via kills. Marist ripped off five straight points on a run that was capped by a kill from Fergus that made it 13-8. A trio of unforced errors from the Highlanders put the Red Foxes in front 21-16 and Marist took the opening set.
 
Marist never led in the second set, as Radford evened the match. The Red Foxes regained momentum by winning a pair of points to begin the third frame, but an 8-3 Highlanders' scoring spree put them ahead 13-7 and they went on to earn the 2-1 advantage.
 
Senior Kelsey Ediger inched Marist closer to leads in the final stanza. She swiped an ace to make it 4-3, and slammed kills to make it 5-4 and 7-7 before Radford pulled out its second victory of the season.
 
Inside the Numbers (Radford):

• Four of Fergus' five blocks in the match came in opening set.
• Ediger led Marist with 12 kills and a pair of service aces.
• Junior Taylor van der Biezen had a double-double for the second consecutive match with 35 assists and 10 digs.
• Radford racked up a .355 hitting percentage to Marist's mark of .152.

Turning Points (Coppin State):
The Eagles jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but Marist caught up and went ahead 10-9 when freshman Chidera Udeh slammed the first of five straight Red Fox kills. Coppin State threatened to come back with a 6-0 run of its own that brought the score to 23-21. Attack errors from the Eagles sealed their fate to start.
 
Ediger had three straight kills to begin second set and her back to back aces consecutive aces gave Marist a 6-1 cushion. The Red Foxes never trailed in the stanza, sprinting off on a 12-3 run when sophomore Nikki DeSerpa had a pair of kills in front.
 
Both sides went back and forth in the third set, trading runs that included six consecutive points by the Eagles as Coppin State went up 14-12. van der Biezen had an ace as part of a 5-0 Marist scoring spree and the Red Foxes were able to complete the shutout in 73 minutes.
 
Inside the Numbers (Coppin State):

• Playing 15 miles northeast of her hometown of Zionsville, Pennsylvania, junior Mackenzie O'Brien got her first start of the season.
• 11 of Marist's 14 players were on the court at some point during the match.
• Eight different Red Foxes had at least one kill and Marist had 31 on the afternoon.
• DeSerpa tied for the team-high with eight kills alongside three blocks.
• Ediger swiped a career-high five service aces as Marist had 10 for the match compared to Coppin State's three.

Next Up:
Marist will host the Volley In The Valley Tournament to begin its 2017 home slate. The Red Foxes will battle Binghamton at 7 p.m. Friday, September 1, and take on defending Horizon League Champion Cleveland State at 3 p.m. the following day. Admission to all tournament games in McCann Arena and live streaming of Marist matches will be free.