NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona University volleyball team faced Sacred Heart University in its second-to-last match of the season. After the Gaels claimed the first two sets, the Pioneers answered by taking the next two. In the decisive fifth set, the Gaels opened with an eight-point lead and finished strong, securing a commanding 15-6 victory.

THE RUNDOWN: Iona: 3, sacred heart: 2

SET 1: After allowing three straight points to start the match, freshman Julia Leonardo put the Gaels on the board with a kill and freshman Gabby Taylor followed with one of her own. Sophomore Kari Smith tied the score at five with another kill. The Maroon and Gold earned their first lead at 9-8 after a block from Leonardo and junior Ezzie Thompson. A trio of attack errors and a kill from Leonardo extended Iona's lead to four. Sacred Heart responded with four straight points to tie the score at 13. Out of the media timeout, the teams traded points with neither side leading by more than two. The set came down to which team could score back-to-back points in the win-by-two scenario. Freshman Emma Koceja delivered a service ace to put the Gaels ahead by one, and a kill from Smith secured the 28-26 win in set one.

SET 2: The Gaels opened the second set with two points off Sacred Heart attack errors. Their lead grew to four after a Koceja kill, prompting the Pioneers to call their first timeout. With the score at 10-5, three straight points from Iona pushed the lead to eight. The teams continued to trade points as the Gaels maintained a comfortable margin of about seven. Sacred Heart then went on a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to two. Despite the late push, the Gaels stayed composed and closed the set 25-21.

SET 3: Leonardo once again opened the scoring for the Gaels with a kill. After conceding the first point, the Pioneers went on an 8-2 run to take a five-point lead. Their momentum continued after an Iona timeout as they stretched the advantage to 14-4, forcing the Gaels to use their final timeout of the set. Down by 13, Iona went on a brief 5-2 run to trim the margin to ten, but Sacred Heart maintained control and took the set 25-16.

SET 4: Leonardo began the scoring for Iona with another kill. After the teams were tied at two, the Pioneers responded with a 5-1 run to build a four-point lead. Iona answered with a 4-1 run of its own, capped by a Smith kill, to pull within one. The score was tied at 12 following another Sacred Heart attack error. The Pioneers held a 15-14 lead at the media timeout and came out of the break with two straight points to extend their lead to three. Those points proved decisive as Sacred Heart claimed the set 25-21.

SET 5: Thompson opened the decisive set with a kill. A kill from Leonardo sparked a 5-1 run that gave the Gaels early momentum and forced a Sacred Heart timeout. A block from Leonardo and Taylor pushed the lead to 8-2 at the side switch. The early surge set the tone for the remainder of the set as the Maroon and Gold controlled play and closed out the match with a 15-6 victory.

IONA Performers

• Taylor with a career high nine blocks!
  Leonardo with another 20 kill performance!
• Smith had a double-double in kills and digs!
• Schroeder led the team with 44 assists!
• Avery with led the defense with 27 digs!

THE OPPONENT

• Abbie Hagedorn led the offense with 18 kills.
• Brielle Laferriere led the team in assists with 45.
• Miliani Villarreal led the defense with 33 kills.

UP NEXT

The Maroon and Gold return to action tomorrow at home as they face off against Fairfield University. The match is set to begin at 2 P.M. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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