NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona University volleyball team faced off against Holy Cross in their final game of their non-conference schedule. The Gaels were able to finish their non-conference schedule strong sweeping Holy Cross and not allowing them to eclipse 20 points in any set. 

THE RUNDOWN: Iona: 3, Holy cross: 0

SET 1: The Maroon and Gold earned their first points of the set on an attack error followed by a service ace from senior Caleigh Schroeder. The lead grew to four after several miscues from the Crusaders. A four-point run by the Gaels pushed the advantage to their largest of the match at seven, making the score 15-8. From there, the Maroon and Gold limited Holy Cross to just seven more points and closed out the set with a 25-15 win.

SET 2: The score stayed tight early, tied at five, until a pair of attack errors by the Crusaders gave the Gaels a two-point edge. Those miscues fueled a 6-3 run that extended the Maroon and Gold's lead to five. Shortly after, the Gaels went on a 9-4 run to create the separation they needed. Two kills by sophomore Kari Smith and one by Junior Buse Tinaz closed out the set for the Gaels as they won the set 25-14 putting them once set away from match victory.

SET 3: The score remained close to begin the set with neither team leading by more than three. The Gaels then strung together an 8-0 run to build a commanding 18-10 advantage. The Crusaders responded to the previous run with a 6-1 surge of their own to cut the deficit back to three, but their push fell short as the Gaels held strong and closed out the third set, 25-19.

IONA Performers

• Smith with a double-double on the day, getting 13 kills and 12 digs. Smith after today's match set a new career high hitting percentage with .400.
• Tinaz with a new career high seven blocks.
• Schroeder led the way in assists with 30.

THE OPPONENT

• Taliah Lee led the offense with five kills.
• Katie Russell had double-digit-kills with 11.

UP NEXT

The Maroon & Gold return to action on Friday to kick off their Buffalo trip as they face Canisius and Niagara. The game against Canisius is set to begin at 6 P.M.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona University athletics on all social media platforms:
Iona Gaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates).
Iona Volleyball: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.