PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Iona College volleyball team lost a pair of games to LIU and Maryland on Saturday at the Cherry & White Challenge, hosted by Temple. The Gaels lost in four sets to the Sharks and the Terrapins took care of Iona in straight sets.

GAME ONE (LIU 3, IONA 1)

Iona and LIU traded points back-and-forth to open things up on Saturday morning, before LIU took seven of eight points to build a 10-6 lead. Iona came back within a point, 12-11, before another spurt by the Sharks made it 14-11. Two errors by LIU and a kill by Julia Thomas knotted the score at 14 all, the first tie since it was even at 5-5 earlier.

Four unanswered points by LIU made it 18-14 and forced an Iona timeout. The Gaels cut it to a one-point deficit and LIU called timeout to try and slow things down in McGonigle Hall. Hana Ekecs tied things up once more with an ace out of the break, followed by an attack error by Jovana Stekovic that gave the Maroon & Gold their first lead since 5-3.

A service error then evened things at 19-19, and LIU built up a 22-19 advantage to force Esai Velez-Perez to use his last timeout of the set. It paid off, as the Gaels proceeded to tie things at 23-23, while LIU burned its final timeout. A block from Jen Soto and Tamara Pichardo gave the Gaels set point, but the Sharks turned it around and forced set-point, grabbing a 25-24 lead. Iona rallied back, taking set one 27-25 after kills from Pichardo and Soto and an attack error by the Sharks.

Set two saw LIU jump out to a quick 5-1 lead powered by three straight aces. After an Iona timeout, the lead grew to five points, though Iona whittled the deficit down to one point, 9-8. The Gaels could not even the score in set number two, falling behind 14-11 and never getting any closer. LIU led 21-16 late, and proceeded to win set two by a score of 25-17.

Set three started the same as the prior two, seeing LIU take an early lead before Iona fought back to tie things up. With things tied at 8-8, the two sides traded points and things remained deeper into the match. LIU regained a 17-14 lead after three unanswered points, forcing a timeout to be taken by the Maroon & Gold. Iona could not close the gap after that, eventually losing 25-17 in set three.

The fourth and ultimately the final set was evenly contested all the way until the end. Neither side owned a lead larger than two points until back-to-back attack errors by LIU staked Iona to a 20-17 lead. Out of a timeout by the Sharks, Iona maintained a two-point advantage, 21-19, but watched it evaporate as LIU closed things out on a 6-0 run to take the match in four sets.

GAME TWO (MARYLAND 3, IONA 0)

The two sides were even at 4-4 early in the opening set, but Maryland created a sizable gap by taking eight of the next 11 points. The Gaels twice pulled within four points, trailing 13-9 and then 16-12, but the Terps rallied to set point by scoring the next eight points. Iona battled off set point for a brief moment, but fell in set one, 25-13.

Maryland built an early 10-3 lead in set two before an Iona run cut the advantage to just three points. Seven straight points for the Terps created a double-digit deficit for the Maroon & Gold. A kill by Kiarra Roth made it 21-10 in favor of Maryland, who proceeded to end set two on a 4-0 run.

Set three started much better for the Maroon & Gold, who jumped out to a 10-7 advantage. The Terps rallied for four straight to points to regain the lead. A couple back-and-forth points saw the score tied at 12-12 before Maryland ripped off nine straight to all but put Iona away. An Alessandra Brady kill stopped the bleeding for a moment, but the Terps cruised to a 25-15 straight-set sweep of the Gaels.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Roth led the Gaels offense with 14 kills, matching her career high, against LIU. Stekovic finished with a match-leading 18 kills.
• Patsos finished with a team-high 19 digs, earning All-Tournament Team honors. Lillian Thomas followed closely behind with 18 of her own, the most in her Maroon & Gold career.
• Samantha Juran finished with 40 assists in the four-set loss to the Sharks, a new career-best mark for the junior.
• Soto finished with a team-leading three blocks and was one of three Gaels to finish with double-digit points against LIU.
• LIU finished with nine total aces, limiting Iona to just two. The Gaels had nine service errors, compared to seven by the Sharks.
• Brady and Thomas each had a team-high four kills against Maryland.
• Hope Matschner finished with a team-leading seven digs, while Juran finished with 11 assists to lead the Gaels.

UP NEXT

Iona will face Seton Hall, Columbia and St. Francis Brooklyn as part of the Big Apple Tournament hosted by Columbia. The Gaels face the Pirates on Friday, September 10 at 4:00 p.m. before taking on the host Lions on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and a matchup with the Terriers will follow. Iona's matches against Seton Hall and Columbia are scheduled to be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

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