NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University volleyball team defeated Manhattan in straight sets (25-14, 25-14, 26-24) to close out the regular season on Saturday at the Hynes Center. Prior to the match, head coach Andy Mueller honored Iona's five seniors, Lillian Thomas, Samantha Juran, Emma Jacobs, Julia Thomas and Fleur Wiersma.

Match SUMMARY

Set 1 (25-14)

An 8-1 run powered by five kills, gave the Gaels an early 10-4 lead, and following a kill from Elena Bianchi, the advantage stretched to 18-8. In front 21-11, Hope Matschner poured in three consecutive aces and a few points later, Mackenzie Wiggins closed out the opening set with a kill to give Iona the lead.

Set 2 (25-24)

Similar to the opening set, Iona jumped out to an early lead and after back-to-back aces from Juran, Iona led 9-3. An 8-2 run propelled by kills from Thomas, Jacobs and Morgan Madasz pushed the lead out to a double digit margin, 18-7. Manhattan never managed to cut the deficit to within single digits, and in front 24-14, Jacobs brought the Gaels within a set of the victory with a kill. 

Set 3 (26-254)

After the Jaspers won the first three points, Iona responded with a 13-5 run to take a five point lead. Following a kill from Jen Soto, Iona pushed their lead to 18-11 however, Manhattan responded with an 11-3 run to reclaim the lead in the later stages of the set. Following an Iona timeout, Wiggins chipped in a kill but Manhattan countered with a kill from Julia Menocal, pulling the Jaspers within two points of extending the match. On the ensuing two points, Wiersma recorded a clutch kill and after an attack error from the Jaspers, Iona had their first match point of the afternoon. Despite Manhattan fighting off the first match point, Wiersma closed out the win for Iona with the go-ahead kill followed by a match ending ace to seal the senior day win for Iona. 

Match Leaders

• Jacobs (9) led a well balanced offensive effort with Wiersma Wiggins and Bianchi each recording eight kills 
• Juran (21) and Pichardo (14) dished out 35 of Iona's 38 assists in the win
• Matschner poured in a match-high 20 digs, closing out an historic regular season for the junior libero. She finishes the '22 campaign with 722 digs, averaging 7.06 D/S.
• As a team, Iona recorded 11 aces in the victory.

UP NEXT:

With Iona's win and Canisius defeating Siena earlier today, the Gaels officially clinched the #3 seed for the 2022 MAAC Tournament. The tournament is set to begin next Wednesday (Nov. 16) down in Florida at the Disney Sports complex.

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