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Box Score

Canisius Canis 4-7

Iona Iona 1-12

Canisius Canis

4-7

Final

Sep. 28, 2019

Iona Iona

1-12

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Canisius Canis	25	20	25	28	(3)
Iona Iona	18	25	21	26	(1)

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/28/2019 4:00:00 PM | Jonathan Stanko

Canisius Slides Past Iona Volleyball In New Rochelle

Golden Griffs win 2018 MAAC Championship rematch

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Niagara

9/29/2019 | 1:00 PM

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Sep. 29 (Sun) / 1:00 PM

Niagara

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NEW ROCHELLE, NY – In a rematch of 2018's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championship match, the Iona College volleyball program fell to Canisius College in four sets (18-25, 20-25, 25-21, 26-28). It was the Maroon & Gold's first home match of the season despite being played away from the Hynes Athletics Center. The Gaels are playing their home-opening weekend at the Monroe College Athletics Complex while the Hynes Center is getting revamped as part of the Arrigoni Challenge.

MATCH SUMMARY

The opening set was Canisius' most dominant of the match. The Golden Griffins won 25-18 behind four kills from Gabrielle Darnaby and three put-aways from Leah Simmons. Canisius also had five of their eight total service aces in the opening set.

Iona's Jamie Smith had a team-best four kills in the first set on seven swings. Red-shirt senior Jessica Paolucci had a match-high six digs in the first set, which she also mirrored in the third. The Maroon & Gold hit .097 in the first set while the Golden Griffins opened the match hitting .250.

The Gaels won the second set, 25-20. Iona's defense was on point, holding Canisius to a match-low .073 hitting percentage. Smith had four kills, followed closely by senior Tess Connolly and sophomore Cassandra Patsos who each had three. Smith also had the only ace of the set and Connolly had six digs.

Hannah Nelson had four kills in the second set for the Golden Griffins. No other Canisius player had more than two kills in the set.

Camila Vasquez and Leah Simmons combined for 10 kills in the third set. The Golden Griffins had a match-best 17 kills on .421 hitting percentage in the game. They had just one attack error on 38 attack attempts. The MAAC preseason favorite took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 decision.

Senior Karla Johnson did the best she could to help Iona in the third and fourth sets where she ratcheted it up for 11 kills on 16 attempts with just two errors. In the fourth and final set, she also contributed a solo block.

The senior middle blocker could not carry Iona enough as Canisius earned its second MAAC win with a 28-26 fourth set victory. There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the final set but the Golden Griffins got six kills from Simmons to help carry them over the final hump.

Canisius won the final set, 28-26, despite collecting fewer kills and having a lower hitting percentage than Iona. An unsung hero for the Golden Griffins in the final set was libero Bree Long bumping up eight of her total 19 digs in the final frame.

Iona has a chance to split the season on Sunday, Oct. 27 in Buffalo, NY.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

Iona's 50 kills are the team's highest total of the season. The Maroon & Gold have 97 kills over its last two matches; combining the two highest kills of the season. The Gaels also tied a season-best with 70 digs, matching the total set against UNC Greensboro.
Senior Karla Johnson finished the match with 14 kills and three blocks. Junior Jamie Smith had 13 kills and four aces. Johnson set a new season-best with 16 points.
Sophomore Maile Powell had 20 assists and rookie Samantha Juran contributed 12. Red-shirt senior Jessica Paolucci had a season-best 19 digs, followed closely by senior Tess Connolly with her season-best effort of 17.
Canisius had 20 attack errors, tied for most by an Iona opponent this season. UNC Greensboro and Rhode Island also had 20 errors.
Leah Simmons led the Golden Griffins with 16 kills, three aces and three blocks. Cassidy Ceriani had a match-best 46 assists and Bree Long had 19 digs.

AROUND THE MAAC

Niagara defeated Manhattan in Riverdale in four sets.
Marist traveled to New Jersey and escaped with a five-set win at Saint Peter's.
Siena and Rider served up at 4 p.m. and Quinnipiac travels to Fairfield at 6 p.m.

UP NEXT

MAAC play continues for Iona on Sunday, Sept. 29. The Gaels host the Niagara Purple Eagles in New Rochelle, NY at the local Monroe Athletic Complex in New Roc City. First serve between the conference foe is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with live stats and a Facebook Live feed available.

Iona is playing at the Monroe Athletic Complex while the renovations to the Hynes Athletics Center are unfolding. The first game in the new arena will be on Wednesday, Oct. 16 against Rider at 7 p.m.