Box Score NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College volleyball team swept the Canisius College Golden Griffins in three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-18) at the Hynes Center today. Besides earning its seventh overall and fifth conference wins, sophomore libero Jessica Paolucci recorded her 1,000th career dig during the third set of the contest.
Paolucci led the way defensively for the Gaels, registering 17 digs. Sophomore Claire Archibald recorded a team-high 11 kills with a .312 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs, en route to her tenth double-double of the season. Sophomore setters Kait Ferretti and Emma Rose combined for a match-best 38 assists. Ferretti had 18 and Rose had 16, respectively.
Paolucci, in her second season with the Maroon & Gold, became just the 12th player in program history to record 1,000+ digs. She currently ranks 12th all time in career digs (1,008), and is just five digs away from moving into sole possession of 11th place in the Iona record books.
Paolucci has played in 222 sets while donning the Maroon & Gold and is currently averaging 4.54 digs per set, third best in Iona history. Allison Nieters' (2007-10) 2,682 digs and 5.87 digs per set average is tops among all of the current and former Iona College volleyball players.
In Saturday's match, the Gaels jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead to open up the first set. Canisius battled back to make it 16-12, in favor of Iona, but the Gaels pulled away thanks to a 8-4 run to make it 24-16. Sophomore Mia Bonsignore recorded the final point of the set, putting an end to the Golden Griffin's 4-0 run.
The second set saw Iona and Canisius trading points back and forth, all the way up until late in the game. A Canisius service error broke a 19-19 tie, and the Gaels proceeded to win the next four points. A kill from senior Karly White gave the Maroon & Gold the 25-20 set win.
Iona maintained a lead for the majority of the third set on their way to a clean sweep of Canisius. At one point, the Gaels led by just one point (11-10), but used a 14-8 run to put away the Golden Griffins for good.
Iona will play their final game of the season tomorrow, Nov. 13, against Niagara at the Hynes Center at 1:00. White will be honored as part of senior day ceremonies.
