NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University Volleyball team earned two victories to finish the tournament undefeated, improving to 3-0 for the first time this century. Hope Matschner took home tournament MVP with Jen Soto and Greta Stjade earning all First-Team honors.

In the first match the Gaels defeated Holy Cross in four sets, (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16) led by a joint effort with Stjade pouring in 11 kills and Soto finishing with a match-best five blocks. In the nightcap the Gaels swept Central Connecticut (25-13, 25-15, 25-15) with Stjade chipping in a career-high 15 kills and Fleur Wiersma tallied eight to lead the offensive attack in the wire-to-wire victory.

MATCH ONE RECAP: 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16)

In a back-and-forth opening frame that saw eight ties, the difference for the Gaels was an 8-2 run, giving Iona an 18-16 advantage. Leading 21-18, back-to-back kills from Morgan Madasz and Julia Thomas gave the Gaels some separation in the first set. Similar to how the match started, Greta Stjade closed out the frame with a kill to give Iona the opening set, 25-20.

Powered by their best offensive set with a match-best .393% hitting percentage and 13 kills, Iona led wire-to-wire in the set. Leading 3-2, the Gaels used a 7-1 run to open up the lead with multiple kills and aces from Mackenzie Wiggins during the stretch. The advantage would grow to as large as nine and leading 24-20, Wiersma closed out the set with a kill to give Iona the two set lead.

The third set proved to be the closest with 12 ties, as neither team were able to establish much control until the end. Trailing 8-5, the Gaels mounted a 5-2 run to draw even after kills from Thomas, Madasz, and rookie Emma Vu during the run. Later in the set after back-to-back attack errors from the Crusaders, the Gaels took a 3 point lead, but Holy Cross responded winning seven out of the next ten points to take a 23-22 lead. Riding that momentum Holy Cross used back-to-back kills to take the set, 25-23 to get on the board.

The theme of the fourth and final set was dominance at the net, with Jen Soto adding three of her match-high five blocks in the frame. Tied at 9, Iona used a 9-3 run to pull ahead with multiple kills from Stjade, Wiggins, and Wiersma. Elena Bianchi recorded her first career kill as a Gael to make it 19-14 and leading 24-16, a block from Soto and Wiersma sealed the victory for the Gaels.

MATCH ONE LEADERS

• Stjade poured in a match-high 11 kills with Soto and Wiggins finishing at eight and seven respectively.
• Sam Juran dished out a match-high 22 and Vu finished with 12 helpers.
• Matschner continued her stellar play, finishing with a match-best 25 digs

MATCH TWO RECAP: 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-21)

Wiggins started the attack for the Gaels with a kill on the matches first point, beginning a fast start for the Gaels. Trailing 8-3, the Blue Devils called an early timeout but it was the Gaels still managing to maintain control and after a from Soto, the lead extended to 15-7. A block from Makenna Capser pushed the lead to 20-11, and on a set point, Bianchi sealed the opening frame with a kill. Iona capitalized using their best hitting percentage of the match at .323% in the first set.

The start of the second set went back and forth but a 6-2 run for Iona gave the Maroon & Gold some breathing room. Three consecutive kills from Soto, Stjade and Wiersma catapulted the run with Juran assisting on two of them. Central Connecticut managed to cut the deficit to 14-11 but four straight points from the Gaels on two kills from Stjade, gave Iona the edge in the set. The Gaels, using a match-best 16 kills, closed out the frame on an 11-4 run.

Similar to the opening set, Iona jumped out to an 8-3 advantage but the Blue Devils responded with a 11-5 run to take their first lead of the match. Both teams traded points but Emma Jacobs poured in a kill at 16-16, breaking the tie for good and beginning a 5-0 Iona run. Leading 23-20, Soto poured in one final kill on the day and an attack error from the Blue Devils sealed the three set sweep for the Gaels.

MATCH TWO LEADERS

• Stjade recorded 15 kills, with Wiersma and Soto both at eight respectively
• Tamara Pichardo dished out an early season-high 23 assist with Juran finishing with 16 on the night.
• Matschner finished with a match-high 24 digs, finishing the tournament with 89 digs.
• Wiggins chipped in seven kills and 11 digs in the victory.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• After wins over Providence, Holy Cross, and Central Connecticut,  the Gaels start the season 3-0 for the first time this century.
• Iona makes it five straight victories over Holy Cross dating back all the way to the 2002 season.
• With the clean sweep over the Blue Devils, Iona earned its first win over Central Connecticut since 2010.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will hit the road to compete in the Seton Hall tournament beginning next Friday, September 2nd. Iona will face Akron on Friday followed by George Mason and the host Seton Hall on Saturday.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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