NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University volleyball team defeated Rider in three-sets (26-24, 25-23, 25-13) on Saturday afternoon to earn their seventh victory of the season.
Jen Soto poured in 10 kills and a career-high eight blocks in Iona's three-set victory at the Hynes Center.
Match SUMMARY
Set 1 (26-24)
Trailing early in the frame 9-6, kills from
Mackenzie Wiggins, Nerin Vaslaskos and Soto catapulted an 8-2 run, helping the Gaels retake the lead. Following the sequence, Rider countered, winning six of the following seven points to grab the lead once again, 17-16. Behind 19-17, Iona rattled off three consecutive points on an attack error, a kill from
Fleur Wiersma, and an ace from
Tamara Pichardo. After exchanging points Rider found themselves with a set-point leading 24-23, but a kill from
Greta Stjade erased the Broncs only set-point of the match. The Gaels went on to seal the set, winning the next two points on clutch kills from Stjade and
Elena Bianchi.Â
Set 2 (25-23)
Despite falling behind by five at two separate points during the frame, the Gaels managed to fight back. Behind 7-2,
Elena Bianchi capped off a 7-2 stretch on a kill to level the set at nine apiece. Now trailing 17-12, after a Rider 5-0 run, Iona responded winning the next five points, bringing the second set to its six tie. Both schools traded points the rest of the way and evened at 23, Iona won the final two points on a kill from Soto and an attack error from the Broncos to pull within a set of the victory
Set 3 (25-13)
Capitalizing on their best offensive set of the match, hitting a match-high 17 kills and .372% Iona managed to create seperation and build a lead. Behind in the set 7-5, Iona used a 15-3 run powered by eight kills and four aces, proving to be the difference maker in the final set. Leading 23-13, The Gaels sealed the victory on kills from
Makenna Casper and Soto to complete the three-set victory.
STAT LEADERS
- Hope Matschner finished with a match-high 20 digs along with Wiggins pouring in nine of her own.
- Wiggins and Bianchi finished with eight kills apiece along with Stjade chipping in seven in the win.
- Soto and Wiersma contributed to 12 of Iona's 18 total blocks
- Pichardo (21) and Juran (12) dished out 33 of Iona's 40 assist in the match
UP NEXT:
The Gaels will look to improve to 5-0 at home this season tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 against Saint Peter's. The match will be streamed on ESPN3Â
SOCIAL MEDIA
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