NEW YORK, NY - The Iona College volleyball team posted a five-set win over Stony Brook in its first match at the 2009 Columbia Invitational at Levien Gymnasium. After the Seawolves took the Gaels over the 25-point limit in set four the Maroon & Gold battled back in the deciding set to win the match 25-20, 11-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-10.
The players posted 10 or more kills to lead the Gaels in the victory all from the outside. Junior Rachel Whitten posted an Iona season-best and matched her career-high with 15 kills. Senior Sarah Wiener had 14 to go over the double-digit mark for the first time this season. She also tied a career-high with four aces. Rookie Theresa Harvey had her first collegiate double-double with 11 kills and a season-best tying 14 digs.
Sophomore Nicole Tamburri and junior Alyssa Erickson split time at the setter position. Tamburri posted a career-best 31 assists through the first four sets while Erickson 14 including six in the deciding fifth set.
Defensively, junior Allison Nieters - the nation's leader in 30+ dig efforts in 2008 - posted 34 digs. It was the 24th time in two-plus seasons she has reached the 30-dig plateau. Sophomore Molly O'Shea led the way with four blocks.
Set 1:
The Gaels took a hold of the set early taking the lead for good on a Wiener kill that made the score 3-2. The point sparked a 7-2 Iona run that Stony Brook would not recover from. The Maroon & Gold led by as many as eight points before the 25-20 set win. Wiener was responsible for 7.5 points with four kills, three aces and an assisted block.
Set 2:
Stony Brook came out firing out of the gate in the second set, taking an early 40 lead. A 10-3 run made the score 18-6 before the frame ended at 25-11.
Set 3:
The first half of the set featured back-and-forth action with 12 different tie scores and five lead changes. The Gaels took hold with a three straight points that made the score 16-13. Stony Brook got to within two points on the next rally but would not get any closer as the Gaels matched their first set win with the five-point set victory. Harvey's six kills were complemented by five from Whitten.
Set 4:
The two teams battled to eight ties and two lead changes but the Gaels could not get the final change they needed to come up with the win. After knotting the score at 24, Stony Brook rallied for two points and the set win. Nieters shined defensively with 10 of Iona's 28 digs in the frame.
Set 5:
Whitten and Harvey recorded kills and Stony Brook hit the ball into the net allowing the Iona to take a 9-6 advantage that it would hold on to for the match victory. Nieters ended the match on an ace. Wiener ended the match as she starting putting down four of seven attempts (.571 pct) to lead the Gaels.
Iona completes action at Columbia tomorrow evening when they face Quinnipiac and the host Lions in back-to-back affairs starting at 5:00 pm. The Iona-Columbia game can be seen live on Iona Insider courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com.
