Marist Women’s Volleyball took on the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday in the McCann Arena, losing 3-2, making their conference record 4-3.
For the past few days, Nikki DeSerpa and Megan Fergus have been the most talked about names in Marist athletics. DeSerpa and Fergus both broke 1,000 kills and continue to climb the all-time kills list.
Although, DeSerpa and Fergus are more focused on winning rather than celebrating their record breaking stats. They are here to take care of business, and to work as a team to get to the MAAC Championship. DeSerpa sat out for the match against Canisius for personal reasons.
Marist won their first set 25-19. The Red Foxes were neck-and-neck with Canisius for the majority of the set. Consisting of jaw clenching rallies, the women stuck with it and were prepared for a battle. Both teams had amazing saves, with Marist having 18 kills to Canisius’ 12.
During the second set Canisius took over, winning 25-20. The Red Foxes were off to a slow start, struggling to finish out their points, but this didn’t stop Fergus from making her monster kills. Canisius began to dominate the court, taking advantage of all of Marist’s mistakes. Hannah Nelson ran the leaderboard for Canisius, ending the set with five kills and eight digs.
For Marist, Madelyn Waumans, Sarah Austin and Fergus lead the team for most of their matchup. Beat down in the second set, trying to stay positive, Canisius continued the rest of the game ready to win. “Game two got sloppy, and Canisius won the sloppy game because they transition really well,” said Marist head coach Sean Byron.
During the third set, Canisius continued to take advantage of Marist’s little mistakes and make them into big points for themselves, ending the set 25-19. In the middle of the set the Red Foxes became noticeably upset at their performance and tried to make a turn around, but it was too late for them. Not being able to fully finish out the points, “Some of it is at the end of rallies we are trying to do so much, instead of making a little touch we are trying to make a big one. Sometimes the girls get a little too juiced up,” said Coach Byron.
Going into a fourth set, already down 2-1, Marist was ready for revenge. Keeping the set tight in score, and making less mistakes and focusing more on each point. The Red Foxes were back in the game, taking the set 25-20.
Waugmas showing Canisius that she was not ready to give up, surprising not only coach but her teammates, Coach Byron said “Maddy was sick as anything yesterday, no one was sure if she was even going to be able to play, but she wanted to gut it out and she played great,”. Waugmas dominated the net with 18 kills, her new career high.
Marist and Canisius took it to a tie-breaker, and the arena got loud. The Red foxes continued to fight, but lost the tie break to Canisius 12-15. The Red Foxes are keeping their heads high as they continue their hopeful journey to the MAAC Championship.
Next up, Marist continues their MAAC conference play against Niagara.
Edited by Lily Caffrey-Levine