NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College volleyball team earned a three-set win over Canisius in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Hynes Center. With the win and a loss by Fairfield to league-leading Niagara this afternoon, the Gaels and Stags are locked into a tie for second place.

Iona used a strong start in all three sets to propel them to victory. In the first set, the Gaels opened up a 12-4 lead en route to the 25-17 set win. The Maroon & Gold led 9-1 in set two, but allowed Canisius to get within two points at 16-14 before holding off their opponent 25-22. In the final frame, Iona led 8-2 and extended the lead to 15-6 before ending the match with a 25-17 win.

The Gaels got a strong performance from the left side of their offense with sophomore OH Theresa Harvey and freshman OH Alicja Pawelec combining for more than half of the team's kills and attack attempts. Harvey posted a match-high 13 kills and added three service aces for 16.5 points. Pawelec recorded 11 kills on 19 attempts with two errors for a .474 hitting percentage. Senior MBs Colleen Genett and Rachel Whitten had six and five kills respectively.

Junior S Nicole Tamburri posted 33 assists with seven digs, five kills and three aces while hitting .364 for the match. Senior libero Allison Nieters had 23 digs while classmate DS Laura Fojanesi added 10 in the victory.

Canisius' Emily Elek had eight kills to lead the Griffs. Libero Allyson Servern posted 25 digs.

The Gaels continue action at home tomorrow afternoon when they host MAAC-leading Niagara at 2:00 pm.