KINGSTON, Rhode Island – Marist's volleyball team fell to 3-5 on the 2017 season after losing a pair of matches in opposite fashion Sept. 8 at the Art Carmichael Invitational. In a morning contest the Red Foxes fell to the host Rhode Island Rams (3-4) in five sets (25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 21-25, 16-14). Columbia (2-2) then defeated Marist in straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-17) in the afternoon.
 
Turning Points (Rhode Island):
Marist took its first lead of the afternoon at 6-5 in the opening set, but Rhode Island erupted for seven of the next nine points. The Red Foxes did not get any closer than within two points of the Rams for the rest of the frame. Marist did not score more than three consecutive points in the second set.
 
The tides turned in the third stanza when Rhode Island had some unforced errors in a 5-1 Marist scoring spree. The Red Foxes led 7-6 at the end of their run, but found themselves down by five points in the middle of the set. They crept closer and trimmed the Rams' lead to 22-21 before they scored the rest of the points with the help of a pair of kills from sophomore Megan Fergus.   
 
Marist regained its lead twice in a fourth frame that was tied five times. A 4-1 Red Foxes' run forced a Rams timeout. With three kills and a service ace coming from sophomore Nikki DeSerpa, Marist was able to prolong the match to a decisive set. There were many scrambles at the top of the net during the volleys in the final set. The Red Foxes showed their resiliency by tying the score seven times, including at 14. Freshman Live Lunde Fossdal sealed the win for the Rams with a kill and a service ace for the match's last two points. 
 
Inside the Numbers (Rhode Island):

• DeSerpa racked up team highs of 16 kills and three service aces.
• Junior Taylor van der Biezen also had three service aces alongside 35 assists and 11 digs.
• Marist held a 13-8 edge in total blocks.
• The Red Foxes hit .190 in the two sets they won compared to .013 in the three sets they lost.
• Rhode Island had three players with double-digit kills and four others with double-digit digs.

Turning Points (Columbia):
Serving played a significant role in the opening set, as six points were decided on either aces or errors. Marist had a pair of three-point leads before the Lions roared back with a 6-3 run to get within one. Kills from DeSerpa and junior Mackenzie O'Brien gave the Red Foxes a slight edge but Columbia went on a late run to get on the board first.
 
Despite evening the score four times in the second set, Marist found itself in a 2-0 hole after Columbia closed out the period on a 15-8 run. The Lions broke a 3-3 tie in the final frame with six straight points and eventually reached .500 on the year with their neutral site victory.
 
Inside the Numbers (Columbia):

• DeSerpa had the most kills of any Red Fox with 14 and racked up a .448 hitting percentage.
• Senior Kelsey Ediger finished one short of a season high with 12 digs.
• The match was tied 16 times, including nine times in the first set.
• Columbia led 8-1 in service aces for the match, getting three apiece from sophomores Grace Campbell and Kate Hefner.

Quote:
"Today we showed some bright moments, but as a general whole we underperformed," Head Coach Lauren Amundson said. "There are certainly some execution errors that we'd like to clean up by tomorrow."

Next Up:
In their final matchup of the weekend the Red Foxes will take on the Northeastern Huskies at 4 p.m. Sept. 9 in Kingston, Rhode Island. Live stats will be provided.