FAIRFIELD, CT – The No. 3 seeded Iona College volleyball team advanced to the 2017 MAAC Championship semifinals with a thrilling five-set win (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 15-11) against the No. 6 seed Quinnipiac Bobcats. It's the program's first victory in the winner's bracket of the MAAC Volleyball Championship since 2010.
The Bobcats tested the Maroon & Gold morale by forcing the match to go the distance after trailing two sets to none, but the Gaels fought the good fight and earned the right to continue its season.
All-MAAC First Team junior Claire Archibald had a match-high 21 kills and 24 points to go along with 15 digs. She also chipped in two blocks, both of which came in the final set. Junior Mia Bonsignore finished with 14 kills and eight total blocks. She had a hitting percentage of .500. MAAC Rookie of the Year Jamie Smith collected five blocks, two digs, five assists, and 11 kills. Junior Emma Rose led the Gaels with 52 assists and freshman Taylor Cole had 14 digs in the libero position.
The Gaels hitting percentage and kill percentage ended at .306 and .408, respectively. They had 12 blocks and seven service aces as a team.
The Gaels last postseason victory before tonight came as the No. 2 seed down in Lake Buena Vista, FL when they defeated both No. 10 Rider and No. 3 Canisius in four sets before falling to top-seeded Niagara in the championship match.
Sophomore Alexandra Russo came off the bench at the start of the match and sparked a 4-0 run with her serve to give Iona a 6-3 lead in the first set. The Bobcats responded with a short spurt that brought the score tied at 11. Iona took an 18-16 lead after an extended rally was concluded by Archibald punctuating a kill down the left side. The Bobcats called their second timeout trailing 21-17, looking to halt an 8-2 by the Maroon & Gold. Iona closed out the first set in emphatic fashion with kills from sophomore Tess Connolly and Bonsignore.
Quinnipiac called an early timeout in the second set when the Gaels jumped out to a 7-4 lead. The advantage swelled to 12-6, leading to the Bobcats calling their second timeout of the set. The stop-in-play didn't slow down the Gael storm as the Maroon & Gold fogged up Quinnipiac on way to 25-16 set two win. Iona took advantage of four Bobcat service errors. Senior Shaina Campbell, Rose and Bonsignore combined for eight total blocks in the set.
Iona came out with another quick start in the third set. It forced Quinnipiac to call a prompt timeout trailing, 5-1. The Gaels and Bobcats traded points until the game became knotted at 18-18. Bonsignore buried a short pass from Rose to give Iona the lead back, and Cole immediately pushed it back to a two-point gap with an ace. However, the Bobcats did not flounder with sophomore Maria Pansari embracing the challenge and leading her team to a fourth set. She served the final two points home for Quinnipiac and assisted on a crucial kill from freshman Morgan Sherwin.
Set four began with the Gaels falling behind 9-5 and second year head coach Patric Santiago calling timeout. The deficit remained and stood at 15-9 when Santiago called his final timeout of the set. The Bobcats closed the fourth on a 10-5 run, taking the set 25-14.
Iona regained its defensive form in the fifth set after the Bobcats tested its muster the two sets prior. The Gaels held Quinnipiac to a .158 hitting percentage in the final set after it had clocked .405 and .346 clips in the third and fourth. Iona had three blocks in the fifth, all coming from All-MAAC performers in Smith and Archibald.
Iona defeated Quinnipiac on all three occasions this season; like Friday night, it took five sets at the Hynes Center (Sept. 17) and then four sets in Hamden, CT (Oct. 21).
The Gaels continue their quest for their second ever MAAC Championship tomorrow afternoon against the No. 2 Niagara. The Maroon & Gold and Purple Eagles split the season series. Iona won in five sets at the Hynes Center and fell in four at the Gallagher Center.
First serve between Iona and Niagara is set for 5 p.m. You can watch the game live on ESPN3 or WATCHESPN.
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