New Britain, CT- The Iona College volleyball team completed its three-game Blue Devil Invitational tournament experience with a three-set win over Bucknell and a hard-fought five-set loss to host Central Connecticut. The Gaels begin the 2008 season with a 2-1 record.
BUCKNELL RECAP
Iona cruised in its first match vs. Bucknell taking the sets 25-16, 25-21, and 25-14. Sophomore Colleen Genett was nearly unstoppable with eight kills in nine attempts (.899). She added three blocks and a team-best three service aces in thew in. Junior Sarah Wiener had seven kills and eight digs while senior co-captain Kendall Paulus and rookie Rachelle Wilson each added six kills in the win. Wilson's four blocks led the Gaels. Setters Alyssa Erickson and Alyssa Morales split time at the position with Erickson recording 14 assists and seven digs in her two sets played and Morales tallying six helpers.
Set 1:
Iona scored six straight points with the score tied at 4-4 and never trailed by less than four throughout the way. Wiener tallied four kills and sophomore libero Allison Nieters had six of her team-best 10 digs in the frame.
Set 2:
The Maroon & Gold took a comfortable 13-5 lead to start the frame but Bucknell rallied with seven of the next nine points to cut the deficit to just three. The Gaels responded and held off the charging Bison, scoring the set's final three points two win 25-21
Set 3:
Genett was 4-for-4 on kill attempts and the Gaels hit .474 for the set to take the match in three sets.
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT RECAP
Iona competed hard in a five-set thriller against a tough Central Connecticut team that took the last six matches and 14 games/sets over the Gaels. Iona's three set losses came by the two-point minimum in the 25-14, 27-29, 25-27, 25-16, 15-13 defeat.
Wiener exploded for a career-high 26 kills eclipsing her previous high of 23 - reached twice - most recently vs. Rider at the Hynes Center last year. Wilson added 12 kills while Genett had 10 in the loss. With 37 digs, Nieters averaged 7.4 digs per set to lead the Gaels defensively. Sophomore DS Laura Fojanesi added 12 digs and Erickson had her first double-double in Maroon & Gold with 52 assists (10.4 /set) and 11 digs in the loss.
Set 1:
After completing their first match a little more than an hour before the Gaels came out rolling to win the first set in dominating fashion. Wiener had six kills and her lone block accounting for seven of Iona's 25 points.
Set 2:
The Gaels rallied from a 6-1 deficit to start the set, tying the match at 19-19. After a Blue Devil timeout and a two-point lead for the Gaels at 22-20, CCSU tallied four of the next five points and held off Iona, 29-27
Set 3:
Leading 16-8, the fatigue of two straight matches began to sink in as Central Connecticut came back to tie the score at 24-24. The home team finished Iona off at 27-25. Nieters had a season-high 11 digs in the game.
Set 4:
Iona got its second win in game four, staring the game off at 6-0 with six straight service points by Paulus. Another five service points by Fojanesi later in the match gave Iona an insurmountable 18-8 advantage as Iona cruised to the 25-16 win.
Set 5:
CCSU held four-point leads at 8-4 and 10-6 and the Gaels shook off the weariness once again to tie the game at 12-12. The Blue Devils next two points was followed by a side out on a Wiener kill, but got the match point by returning the favor.
Iona makes its Hynes Center debut on Wednesday, taking on Fairleigh Dickson at 7:30 pm. Watch the game for free on ICGaels.com if you can't make it to the gym.
