NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, New York – Playing its third straight five-set match against the Niagara Purple Eagles, the Marist volleyball team suffered its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss of 2017 on Sept. 23. Set scores were 25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-2.
 
The defeat was the Red Foxes' first to Niagara since 2014 and brought Marist to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Niagara improved to 7-5 overall and 3-0 in MAAC competition.
 
Turning Points:
Both teams traded runs to start the afternoon with the Purple Eagles going ahead 13-9. Unforced errors allowed Marist to creep back into the contest and junior Lauren Waide tied the score at 22 with one of her many kills. Niagara then ripped off three straight points for the early lead.
 
There were seven ties in a back and forth second set. A four-point outburst by the Red Foxes that included a pair of Waide kills put them ahead 11-7. Service errors from both sides trimmed the Marist edge to 22-21, but the Red Foxes regrouped out of a timeout to win the point and even the match.
 
Sophomore Megan Fergus heated up in the third set, putting Marist in front with a pair of kills. Ahead by two later in the frame, the Red Foxes went on an 8-3 scoring spree that featured kills from four different hitters. Niagara came knocking again with a 7-2 run of its own to bring the score to 24-22. For the set's final point senior Sydney Rojek fed Waide for the kill and Marist went ahead 2-1 in the contest.
 
Niagara took control in the final stanzas, going on a 9-2 run in the fourth set to force a Marist timeout. The Red Foxes did get within two points, but the Purple Eagles capped the set with five straight points and rolled through the decisive frame.
 
Inside the Numbers:

• Playing 37 miles north of her hometown of Lake View, New York, Rojek registered a match-high 39 assists.
• Waide slammed a career-high 15 kills and hit .481. She also led Marist with three service aces.
• Sophomore Nikki DeSerpa racked up 17 kills and eight digs.
• For the match, Marist held the advantage in kills (53-51), assists (50-46), and digs (74-67). Niagara owned a 12-8 edge in total blocks however.
• Three Purple Eagles reached double-digit digs: senior Rylee Hunt (23), sophomore Rachel Hall (14) and freshman Jaycie Roberts (11).

Quote:
"Niagara is always a tough gym to get a win, but we made it a lot tougher on ourselves when we're high in the error column," Head Coach Lauren Amundson said. "We'll look to clean those up for Canisius tomorrow."

Next Up:
Marist will conclude its nine-match road swing when it faces Canisius at 1 p.m. Sept. 24. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN3.