LOUDONVILLE, NY – The eight seed Iona University Volleyball Team defeated number five seed Sacred Heart in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship Thursday evening. The win marked the second year in a row that the Gaels have won the first round of MAAC Championship play and accounted for the Maroon & Gold's first victory over the Pioneers since 2008.
Three Gaels reached double figures in points. Iona hit .264 as a unit and swept Sacred Heart 3-0.
The Rundown
The Gaels ran out of the gates white-hot, with
Sanem Bas landing three aces in a 10-2 run to open the postseason. Keeping their opponent's offense out of rhythm, the Gaels would snag the first set, 25-20.
The Maroon & Gold continued their good form, forcing a Pioneers timeout following a 9-3 opening to the second. Iona led the blocks battle with 5.0 total compared to Sacred Heart's 1.0.
Grace Ehler tallied five kills, including the final swing that gave the Gaels a 25-22 second set victory.
A sum of five kills early in the third from
Taylor Timko would give the Gaels a 15-8 lead into the media timeout, the Gaels hitting an impressive .692 before the break. Out of the timeout, the largest advantage of eight would be achieved before Sacred Heart clawed back to within two. But once again
Grace Ehler would come up with a clutch kill, the Gaels taking the third in a 25-22 wire-to-wire set victory, completing the sweep and match win.
