Lake Buena Vista, FL - After losing two matches to Rider in as many meetings during the regular season, the Iona College volleyball team showed resiliency in an opening round win at the 2006 MAAC Championships being held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Gaels beat the Broncs 30-28, 30-21, 30-22 for the shutout. Iona moves on to face No. 1 seed Fairfield at 6:00 pm.

The Maroon & Gold grabbed a lead early in game one and never let go. Four attack errors by Rider combined with points by Kristin Allain and Katie Brilla gave Iona the advantage. Leading 20-12, the Gaels gave up seven consecutive Bronc points to bring the game to within one. Two errors by Lacey Johnson and a kill from Allain helped the squad regain composure and come away with the win.

The Gaels fell behind 4-0 to start game two. They came back slowly and tied the score at 13 on a Morgan Young kill. There would be six tied scores throughout the game. Two late kills by Shelby Erb and two Alyssa Morales aces helped Iona to a nine point victory. The Gaels led 16-11 in kills and .316-.156 in attack percentage in game two.

Both teams matched points to start off game three. Two Rider errors and kills by Erb and Brilla had Iona up 9-4. The Gaels continued to benefit from errors by the opponent and through communication on the court. Allain recorded the final three points for Iona to secure the game and the match win.