POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist volleyball was defeated by Iona 3-1 at McCann Arena on Sunday afternoon. The loss was just the first in the last four games for the Red Foxes, and just their second in their last eight games. With the loss, Marist moves to 9-9 overall, and 6-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
 

Summary

In the first set, the Red Foxes and Gaels exchanged two points each early on. A Sarah Austin kill on the next play sparked a 11-4 run to give Marist a 13-6 lead. The Red Foxes would go on and extend their lead to 19-12, but five consecutive Iona points, highlighted by a block from Cassandra Patsos and Jamie Smith, closed the deficit to two. The Gaels closed to within one point three different times, but back-to-back kills from Nikki DeSerpa would be enough to give Marist a 25-22 victory in set one.

Iona got off to a quick start in set two, getting out to an early 8-2 lead, forcing a Marist timeout. The Red Foxes gained some momentum after a DeSerpa kill out of the timeout sparked a 3-0 run that brought the score to 8-5. However, the Gaels were able to fend off each Red Fox comeback attempt, and eventually won set two 25-18.

Set three was very evenly matched throughout. Neither team held a lead larger than three points, until back-to-back Iona attack errors gave Marist an 18-14 lead. After that point, the Red Foxes contained the Gaels, and would not allow them to get any closer than three points until a 3-0 Iona brought the score to 23-22. Iona was able to even up the score at 24-24, and then won the set after a Red Card on Marist.

The Gaels got out to an early 6-1 lead in set four, forcing a quick Red Fox timeout. Marist was able to bring the score to as close as four, but Iona thwarted every comeback attempt by the Red Foxes. Iona would go on to win the set 25-19, taking the match 3-1.
 

Notes

• Marist had 11 blocks, while Iona had just seven
• The Gaels had the advantage in digs, 61-59
• DeSerpa had a kills/assists double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs
• Claire Archibald had a match-high 22 kills for Iona
• Chidera Udeh and Skylar Harrison both had carry highs in blocks. Udeh tallied seven while Harrison had five.

Up Next

The Red Foxes welcome the Quinnipiac Bobcats to McCann Arena on Wednesday, October 10. The MAAC matchup will be the third home match in a row for Marist. The match is set to begin at 7 P.M.