KINGSTON, Rhode Island - The Marist volleyball team went 1-1 on the first day of the URI Invitational on Friday.

Marist beat LIU 3-0 in the Red Foxes' first match of the day. Then, the Red Foxes fell short of taking down URI 3-2. 

Sasha van der Merwe had 31 kills against the Rams. It was the third time in program history a Red Fox notched at least 30 kills in a match.
 

Match One | Marist 3, LIU 0

• The Red Foxes jumped out to a hot start where Sasha van der Merwe recorded six kills within the first set. The Red Foxes earned a 25-16 win in set one.
• Marist prevailed 25-17 set two.
• In set three the Red Foxes and the Sharks battled back in forth for the lead where eventually the Red Foxes were able to take the 25-20 victory.  
• McKinley Fox continued to rack up the assists as she finished the match with 30 assists.
• Jordan Newblatt and van der Merwe each had team highs of 13 kills.
• Gabrielle Heller had a team-high 12 digs plus nine kills.

 

Match Two | URI 3, Marist 2

• Marist quickly fell behind 2-0 in the first two sets against URI, falling 25-19 and 26-24.
• The Red Foxes were able to battle back and forth with URI and able to tie the match at two sets apiece.
• The Red Foxes fell short in set five by a score of 15-12, as URI came away with the 3-2 victory.
• The 31 kills by van der Merwe tied for second-highest single match today in program history. Newblatt notched 31 and 34 kills against Canisius and Niagara, respectively, on consecutive days last season.
• Additionally, van der Merwe totaled 14 digs and five blocks
• Vanessa Zolg had eight blocks and an .857 hitting percentage with six kills.
• Morgan Owens led the Red Foxes with 15 digs.

Up Next

Marist, which is now 4-4 on the season, takes on the undefeated Boston College Eagles (8-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m.