SANTA CLARA, California – The Marist volleyball team won its first two matches of the season on Friday, defeating Northern Colorado 3-2 in the afternoon, and then defeating Santa Clara 3-0 later in the night.

With the wins, the Red Foxes improve to 2-6 overall on the season. Meanwhile, the Bears fall to 4-3 and the Broncos fall to 7-2.
 

MARIST VS NORTHERN COLORADO SUMMARY

• Set one began closely contested, as Marist and Northern Colorado were tied at 12 in the early going. The Bears briefly got out to a 16-13 lead, but the Red Foxes used a 7-2 run to take the lead back, 20-18. Senior Megan Fergus took over the match from that point on, collecting a kill and three total blocks on the final four rallies, leading the Red Foxes to a 25-19 set one victory.
• Both teams went back-and-forth again early in set two, leading to a 15-15 stalemate. Marist took five of the next six points after consecutive kills from Nikki DeSerpa, Fergus (2), Sarah Austin, and Stephanie Stone. Freshman Gabby Murray put the finishing touches on the set, slamming home the set-winning kill to give the Red Foxes a 25-21 victory.
• The early-set jostling continued in set three, as neither team gained a definitive edge early on, leading to a 17-17 tie. From that point, the Bears went on a brief 3-0 run, giving them the gap they needed to win the set, defeating Marist 25-20.  
• As per the norm of the match, The Red Foxes and Northern Colorado were tied at 12 about midway through set four. The Bears were able to recover from back-to-back kills by Murray out of a Marist timeout, and came back to win the set 25-20.
• The Red Foxes had the early advantage in set five, after three straight Austin kills gave them a 6-4 lead. Taylor Muff had a clutch kill for Northern Colorado tying the set at 10, but five straight Marist points, capped by a kill from Fergus to put a cherry on top of her stellar match, gave the Red Foxes a 15-10 set victory. Marist took the match 3-2.

 

MARIST VS NORTHERN COLORADO STATS

• Fergus dominated the entire match, matching her career-high with 20 kills, while adding four total blocks and seven digs.
• Austin tallied her second double-double of the season, accumulating 16 kills and a season-high 14 digs.
• Freshman setter Halle Carter tallied her second career double-double, dishing out 41 assists and adding 11 digs.
• Lauren Hinrichs led UNC with 15 kills in the match.
• Marist outhit the Bears, .248-.136. The Red Foxes also had the advantage in blocks, 8-4.

 

MARIST VS SANTA CLARA SUMMARY

• Fergus continued her torrid start to the day into game two, as she had four early kills in the first set to help the Red Foxes get out to an early 14-10 lead. Back to-back combined blocks from DeSerpa and Carter extended that lead to 22-16, and Santa Clara couldn't recover. Marist coasted to a 25-18 set one victory.
• The Red Foxes kept the foot on the gas in set two. The Broncos took the first point of the set, but that was the only lead they would see. Santa Clara made it interesting, climbing back to within one point just after Marist took a 19-12 lead. However, a Sophia Theriot service aced closed the books on the resurgence, as the Red Foxes took the set 25-21.
• Marist completed the sweep in set three, making a stellar comeback. The Broncos came out with a vengeance to begin the set, claiming an early 10-3 lead. The Red Foxes climbed all the way back, however, tying the match at 18 on DeSerpa's seventh kill. Stone clinched the match with a solo block, preventing the Brocnos from tying the match at 24 and forcing a win-by-two tiebreaker.

 

MARIST VS SANTA CLARA STATS

• Fergus followed up her 20 kills in the first match with 19 kills on a season-high .417 hitting percentage against the Broncos in game two.
• DeSerpa had a season-high three total blocks, leading Marist.
• Carter tallied 36 assists in the match, and 12 assists per set, giving her a combined 77 assists on the day.
• Julia Sangiacomo led Santa Clara with 10 total kills, and added six digs.
• The Red Foxes held the advantage in hitting percentage, .311-.179.

 

NOTES FROM THE DAY

• The wins were the first and second career wins at Marist, respectively, for Head Coach Sean Byron.
• Against the Broncos, DeSerpa moved into sole possession of eighth place on the program's all-time kills list.
• Murray tallied a career-high in kills (7) and total blocks (4) against Northern Colorado.
• Theriot also had a career match against the Bears, tallying a career-high 23 digs and a career-high five assists.

 

SET 1 | DeSerpa connects on her second kill of the match, giving Marist a 20-15 lead. With that kill, Nikki is now in sole possession of 8th place on the Red Foxes' all-time kill list. #GoRedFoxes pic.twitter.com/H8WkccFSzZ

— Marist Volleyball (@Maristvb) September 14, 2019

 

NEXT UP

The Red Foxes close out the SJSU/SCU Tournament on Saturday, September 14. Marist will take on San Jose State at 5 p.m.