NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The weekend ended in disappointing fashion for the Iona Volleyball program with a tough five-set loss (28-26, 17-25, 21-25. 25-20, 11-15) at home to the Quinnipiac Bobcats. The match as a whole had 23 ties and three changes and junior
Jamie Smith led the Maroon & Gold with a team-high 17.0 points.
MATCH SUMMARY
The first set between Quinnipiac and Iona had six ties, but the Maroon & Gold never faltered in giving up the lead. The Bobcats tied the game once at 6-6 before the back-and-forth at the close of the set. Iona led 24-22, but Quinnipiac survived a pair of set points to tie the score at 24. Sophomore
Alessandra Brady gave her time the edge with a kill to make it 25-24, but again the Bobcats preserved for another serve. Rookie
Julia Thomas gave Iona a 26-25 lead with his lone first set kill, but Aryanah Diaz again extended the match and tied it at 26. Finally, a pair of kills from Smith secured the first set for the Maroon & Gold, 28-26.
Quinnipiac took the Iona approach of the first set and brought it into the second. The Bobcats took an early lead, allowed five ties, but closed out to tie the match a 1-1. All of the ties happened early in the set for the Gaels. Quinnipiac pulled away with a 5-1 run in the middle of the set to take a 15-9 lead. It was followed up by another mini spurt that put the Bobcats ahead, 21-15. A kill from Georgia Tselepi secured the second frame from the visitor, 25-17.
Iona and Quinnipiac went back-and-forth in the third set, trading point until the point total reached double-digits. A Kaliegh Oates kill gave the Bobcats a 13-10 lead, and that three-point deficit would swell to as many as six over the course of the third set. The Gaels trimmed it to two once at 18-16 before falling behind 23-17. Diaz closed out the set for the Bobcats with her one and only kill of the third set.
The Gaels didn't shy away from making this Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference a competitive one. Behind the serving prowess of sophomore
Maile Powell, the Maroon & Gold launched themselves ated in the fourth set, 11-2. However, the Bobcats countered with a 5-0 run of their own to make it 11-7. The four-point margin would be the standard for the remainder of the set. Quinnipiac got within one once at 13-12, but Iona was Teflon and made it 20-13 in the blink of an eye. Senior
Jessica Paolucci send the match to a fifth and decisive set with an ace to end the fourth game, 25-20.
After trading points for the first 12 rallies of the fifth set, the Bobcats delivered the winning moment in the fifth set. They took a two-point lead at 9-7 and kept that advantage late into the fifth. Gabby Horman made it 12-9 with one her three fifth set kills. The deficit proved too much for Iona as it closed out the Gaels at the Hynes Center with a 15-11 final frame score.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Smith led the Gaels with 17.0 points. She had 14 kills on 34 attack attempts. Smith also contributed nine assists, six digs and four blocks.
- Patsos closed with 11 kills, three blocks and 12.5 points.
- Brady had 10 kills on 29 attempts. She had four block assists and closed with 12.0 points.
- Senior Karla Johnson hit .259 and had 10 kills and seven total blocks. She finished with 14.5 points and a .370 kill percentage.
- Powell came in of the bench and had 14 assists and three service aces.
- Freshman Samantha Juran had a team-best 26 assists and five digs.
- Paolucci had a team-high 18 digs in addition to an ace and four assists.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona's 59 kills against the Quinnipiac is its second highest total of the season. The only one greater was against Niagara on September 29 when it had 64. Thought in contrast, the Gaels had a season-high 31 attack errors.
- The Gaels set a new season-best with 15 total blocks in the match. The Maroon & Gold had just one solo block from Thomas and 28 blocks assists. Thomas had seven block assists in the match, setting a new career-high.
- Brady's 10 kills,12 points and four blocks are all new career-highs.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Canisius defeated Saint Peter's in four sets on the road.
- Fairfield took care of business with a sweep in Riverdale, NY against Manhattan.
- Rider defended home court against Niagara in straight sets.
- Over the last two matches, Patsos has 25 kills and 29.0 points.
UP NEXT
Iona plays its two remaining home games next week. On Wednesday, November 6, the Gaels host Saint Peter's at the Hynes Center at 7 p.m. The contest against the Peacocks is being broadcasted on
ESPN+. On Saturday, November 9, The Gaels host Manhattan on senior day at 1 p.m. Prior to the game, head coach Esai Velez Perez and Gael Nation will honor the program's five seniors.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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