New Britain, CT- The Iona College volleyball team opened up its 2008 campaign with an impressive three-set win over 2007 America East champ Stony Brook (25-19, 25-22, 26-24) in the opening game of the Blue Devil Invitational at Central Connecticut State.  Junior OH Kendall Paulus had 12 kills and hit a team-best .455 to lead the Gaels defensively.

Paulus was backed up by a strong performance by junior OH Sarah Wiener who added 11 kills.  Wiener added six digs and four blocks for the Gaels in the win.  Sophomore MH Colleen Genett posted five kills (.333 pct) and four digs.   Sophomore setter Alyssa Erickson made her Iona debut with 26 assists and six digs.  Sophomore libero Allison Nieters had a team-best nine digs in the three-set victory.  The Gaels recorded nine team blocks to ease the pressure on team's back row defensive effort.  Freshman Molly O'Shea had five in her first game in Maroon & Gold.

Set 1:
After tying he score at 3-3 on an attack error by the Seawolves, the Gaels scored six of the next seven service points and never trailed.  Stony Brook rallied to tie the score at 15-15, Iona tallied three straight points and earned a 25-19 win.

Set 2:
The Gaels managed a three-point lead at 5-2 but could not extend it until taking a 20-15 advantage to force a Stony Brook time out.  With set point at 24-19, the Seawolves scored three straight to give the Gaels a scare.   Wiener put the set away with a kill as the Gaels won 25-22.

Set 3:
Twelve ties and seven marked the exciting final set as the Iona rebounded from a 24-23 deficit to win 26-24.  Back-to-back kills by Genett and Wiener gave Iona a 25-24 lead as the squad finally put the frame away on an attack error by its opponent.

The Gaels continue action at Central Connecticut with two games in New Britain.  Iona takes on Bucknell at 10:00 am before a matchup with the host Blue Devils following at 12:30 pm.