POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Despite not competing in match for 477 days, the Iona College volleyball program returned to action in golden form with a doubleheader sweep over the Marist Red Foxes at McCann Arena. The Gaels swept the first game 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-21) and capped off the day with a four-set victory, 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12).

MATCH ONE RECAP: 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-21)

The theme of match one is dominance at the net, and it started from the first serve. Starting in their first appearances as Gaels, Fleur Wiersma and Jen Soto combined for 13 total blocks. Wiersma had six block assists and two solo blocks while Soto have five block assists. For comparison, Marist had only four blocks over the course of the first match.

Junior Alessandra Brady alongside rookie Hope Matschner were the main weapons for the Maroon & Gold. Each had nine kills and the three block assists in the match. Brady was also a manic on the defensive end with a career-high 10 digs.

The deciding moment of the first set came when the Maroon & Gold and Red Foxes were tied 10-10. With Brady serving, Iona went on a four-point run that pulled the momentum onto the Gaels side. Marist managed to tie the game up at multiple times over as it wound down, but it was a constant battle uphill. Iona eventually closed out the set, 26-24.

Set two was controlled by Iona from first serve. After the Red Foxes took a quick 1-0 lead, Taylor Cole dished out a series of serves that pushed Iona in front, 5-1. The Maroon & Gold remained in front of Marist by at least two for the remainder of the set. The lead grew to as large as 22-12 on a Red Foxes attack error. Marist had a 7-1 run to make it respectable in the end by Iona took a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 decision.

The third and final set of the first match of the day was the closest of the early afternoon. Neither Iona or Marist established any sense of power until past the midway point. A Wiersma kill, assisted by Samantha Juran, put Iona ahead 19-16 and forced a Marist timeout. The Gaels scored two additional points following the break in play and a Soto kill put the match away, 25-21.

MATCH ONE LEADERS

• Brady and Matschner each had a team-high nine kills for Iona. Brady closed out the match with a team-best 11.5 points.
• Soto hit a Gael-best .500 on 12 attack attempts.
• Taylor had a team-high 12 digs. She and Samantha Juran each had one ace.
• Juran dished out 26 of Iona's 30 assists.
• Wiersma had a match-high and a career-high eight blocks.
• Marist's Jordan Newblatt had a match-high 16 kills on 48 attack attempts. She also led all players with 16 digs and 17 points.

MATCH TWO RECAP: 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12)

Iona returned its same starting lineup from match one into match two, but Marist had things switched up. After playing majority underclassmen in the season-opener, the Red Foxes went back to their upperclassmen come the capper. Despite going up against different ingredients, the Maroon & Gold still came away with a winning recipe behind the stellar play of senior captain Jamie Smith.

Smith had a match-high 15 kills on 34 attack attempts. Her fill percentage was 44.1%. The Preseason All-MAAC selection just missed out on a double-double as she had nine digs in conjunction with five blocks. Brady made it a pair of strong games with nine kills and 13 digs. Julia Thomas saw more action in the second set and she made the most of it with eight blocks and nine kills.

While blocks were the motif for match one, service aces took up the mantle in match two. In the first set there were six aces served up by the Gaels. A pair of back-to-back aces from Cole put the Maroon & Gold ahead 11-7. Marist got back within two with an ace of their own from Courtney Kasperski but a seven-point explosion to close out the match made it a 25-15 decision.

The second set was similar to the opening set of the first match. Iona led by four at one point, 12-8, but Marist clawed back and consecutive kills from Jordan Rush tied the set at 17-17. After battling and trading side-outs, Iona head coach Esai Velez-Perez called timeout. A killer service error by Marist put the ball back in Iona's hand. A Matschner kill gave Iona set point and Smith put it away to put the Gaels ahead in the match, 2-0.

The Red Foxes got their only set win of the day in the third set. Iona had a match-low 10.4 hitting percentage and 27.1 attack percentage. Despite the lesser attacking performance, the Gaels still had a chance to win the set and complete a double sweep. The score was tied at 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22. An Iona attack error gave Marist set point at 24-22, and after one kill the Gaels did bow a set, 25-23.

Not dwelling on the near past, Iona came bursting out the seams to start the fourth set. With Cole serving up heat to begin what would be the final set, the Gaels jumped ahead 5-0. The closest Marist would get to Iona was three points, 9-6. The final accent on Iona's strong season-opening statement was a seven-point run serviced by Maile Powell that had the Maroon & Gold ahead 23-10. Iona won the fourth set and the match by its widest margin of the day, 25-12.

MATCH TWO LEADERS

• Smith had a match-high 15 kills and 19.5 points.
• Thomas in the middle had a career-high and match-best eight blocks. Her previous career-high was seven blocks in a five set loss to Quinnipiac on November 3, 2019. Thomas also had a team-best 40.0 hitting percentage.
• Cole led the defense for Iona with 15 digs. Brady contributed 13 and Cassandra Patsos dove around for a career-high. Patsos' previous personal-best was eight against Siena last season on November 16.
• Juran passed out a career-best 36 assists. Her previous career-high was 33 dimes on November 6, 2019 against Saint Peter's.
• Marist's Jordan Rush led her team with 12 kills and 40 attack attempts. Jocelyn Gorman had 21 digs and McKinley Fox finished with 37 assists.

UP NEXT

Iona takes a week off before returning to action on Sunday, March 14 against the Fairfield Stags at the Hynes Athletics Center. The doubleheader from New Rochelle begins at 11 a.m. ET and the second game is tentatively scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Both games between the Gaels and the Stags will be aired on ESPN3. Fans can also follow along with live stats and across Iona social media platforms.

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