HANOVER, NH - The Iona College volleyball team opened the weekend at the Dartmouth Invitational in New Hampshire with a 3-0 (19-25, 21-25, 12-25) setback to Sacred Heart. The match was the first of three for the Gaels (2-5) in two days.

Freshman Jamie Smith led the Maroon & Gold on the offensive side with eight kills to go along with three assists and two blocks (one solo, one assist) while Emma Rose set for 21 assists. Tess Connolly and Claire Archibald each posted six kills to go along with seven and five digs, respectively. Karla Johnson recorded three blocks (two solo, one assisted) and a matching number of kills. 

Behind a .458 hitting percentage, Liisel Nelis put forth a match-high 12 kills for the Pioneers (3-4) in addition to six digs and five service aces. Kiki Robinson notched 35 assists, seven digs and two aces in the winning effort.

Despite five kills from Smith in the opening set, Sacred Heart managed a 25-19 victory in the opening set behind 13 teams kills on a .269 hitting percentage. Nelis led the Pioneers with four in the game while Robinson tallied 11 assists. A tie game at 6-6 turned into a 19-12 advantage for Sacred Heart on the way to victory following a 13-6 run. 

The Pioneers kept the momentum of the first set rolling into the second game by starting out with an 8-2 advantage that included two aces from Nelis. After pushing the deficit to 19-11, Iona rallied to get within three at 20-17 following an Alexandra Russo service ace. The advantage proved to be enough for Sacred Heart, closing out the set on a kill from Julia Murawinski. Archibald tallied all six of her kills in the second set on a .357 percentage. However, Sacred Heart matched the effort with a .333 team percentage with 16 kills as Nelis and Gianna Scioletti netted five a piece in the frame.

Robinson used two service aces in the early stages of third set to push Sacred Heart to the first six points before eventually building a 21-9 advantage that was capped off by two more aces from Nelis. Kiley Ridgway scored the final two points for the Pioneers to end the match and set at 25-12. The Gaels managed just five kills in the final game, compared to seven attack errors while Sacred Heart posted 12 kills on a .269 percentage in addition to the help of four aces. 

Iona returns to the court at Dartmouth tomorrow afternoon to face the hosts at 1:00 pm followed by a 4:30 pm first serve against Syracuse.