STORRS, CT - In the final match of the Dog Pound Invitational hosted by the University of Connecticut, the Iona College volleyball team dropped a three-set (17-25, 12-25, 19-25) match to LSU.
The Tigers (6-0) used a .245 hitting percentage and 8.0 team blocks towards the 3-0 victory in addition to six service aces. The Gaels (2-4) were held to a .030 hitting percentage and served into six errors.
Claire Archibald, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, joined
Jamie Smith with the team-high of six kills. Archibald also added nine digs while
Alexandra Russo tallied a team-best 11 digs.
Emma Rose added 20 assists.
For LSU, Gina Tillis led the effort with eight kills as she was one of 10 individuals to record a kill throughout the three sets. Anna Zwiebel paced the offense with 27 assists while Raigen Cianciulli notched 11 digs.
The Maroon & Gold came within one point at 14-13 in the first set following a Smith kill, however, Zwiebel capped off an 11-4 run for LSU to close out the opening set 25-17 win. In the second set, the Tigers connected on 14 kills with just two errors towards a .429 hitting percentage during a 25-12 win. Facing a 15-8 deficit in the final set, the Gaels strung together a 7-0 run that included two service aces from Rose to come within 16-13. Taking back control of the serve, the Tigers put the set out of reach as Milan Stokes connected on three straight kills on the way to a 25-19 win.
Archibald was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.36 kills and 1.73 digs per set throughout three matches while totaling five service aces.
Iona returns to the court next weekend with a three-match trip to Dartmouth starting with Sacred Heart on Friday at 3:30 pm.
