NIAGARA, NY – The Iona University volleyball team faced off against Niagara to close out their first week of conference play. After falling down in the first two sets, the Maroon and Gold fought their way back to force a decisive fifth set but were unable to complete the reverse sweep as they fell in the final set.

THE RUNDOWN: NIAGARA: 3, IOna: 2

SET 1: The match opened with a kill from freshman Julia Leonardo. The Maroon and Gold scored their first four points on kills, building a slight two-point edge. The Purple Eagles responded with a 5-1 run to take a 7-5 lead. Leonardo continued to swing aggressively, recording four kills for four points early on. Niagara extended its momentum, turning the 5-1 stretch into an 11-4 run that pushed the lead to five and forced the Gaels to call their first timeout. After trailing by as many as seven, the Maroon and Gold battled back to cut the deficit to three. Despite the rally, the Gaels could not find the final push they needed and dropped the set 25-20.

SET 2: The set began as a close battle until the Purple Eagles went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to five, forcing the Gaels to call their first timeout. Niagara pushed the lead to nine after a Maroon and Gold attack error. Leonardo sparked the offense with a kill, and the Gaels followed with three straight points to close the gap to four. Despite the late rally, the Gaels were unable to complete the comeback and dropped the set 25-21.

SET 3: The set opened with the Gaels in a three-point hole. The Purple Eagles' lead was short-lived, as an attack error capped off a 5-1 run for the Maroon and Gold. Niagara responded with a 4-1 run to go back up by two, but the Gaels answered with a 4-1 stretch of their own to regain a 12-11 advantage. From there, the set remained tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than two. In the closing points, the Gaels held strong and secured the fourth set 25-22.

SET 4: Momentum stayed with the Gaels coming out of the break as they built an early 5-3 lead. The Purple Eagles responded with a 6-1 run to take their first lead of the set and stretch the margin to four, forcing the Gaels to call a timeout. Trailing 10-6, the Maroon and Gold regained their rhythm and outscored Niagara by four to even the score at 13. Following a few errors by the Maroon and Gold, the Purple Eagles were back up by two. After falling down by five, the Gaels refused to back down as they scored five straight points to knot the set at 20. From there, the Maroon and Gold closed strong, winning five of the final seven points to take the set 25-22 and force a decisive fifth.

SET 5: The decisive fifth set opened as a tight battle, with the Purple Eagles holding a one-point edge at the media timeout. Out of the break, freshman Emma Koceja tied the score at eight, and Leonardo followed with a kill to give the Gaels the lead. Niagara quickly responded with three straight points to go back in front by two. Kills from Leonardo and junior Ezzie Thompson evened the score at 11. Later in the set, a Maroon and Gold attack error put the Purple Eagles at match point. Niagara sealed the victory with a kill, handing the Gaels a 15-13 defeat in the fifth set.

IONA Performers

• Sophomore Avery Gaume set a new career high in digs with 27. 
• Leonardo led the attack with a career high 26 kills. She also had a career high in digs with 19. 
• Senior Caleigh Schroeder had her Gael high in digs with 30. She also tallied 52 assists on the day. 
• Sophomore Kari Smith also tallied a new career high in digs with 27. 

THE OPPONENT

• Liana Tolliver, Payton Lee, and Kinga Wronska all had double digit kills. 
• Kylie Blessing and Paisley Ka'ahanui both had 20 assists. 
• Mia Schaefer was the team leader in digs with 29. 

UP NEXT

The Maroon and Gold return home to Hynes on Tuesday to face off against Manhattan at 6:00 P.M.

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