The Marist women’s volleyball team earned their tenth victory of the season in four sets against the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday night. With that win, the Red Foxes are now third in the MAAC with a 5-3 conference record.
Marist trailed Canisius for a majority of the opening set, but. With the score standing at 15-12 in favor of the Golden Griffins, the Red Foxes went on a 13-6 run. That dominant finish helped the home team take the first set by a score of 25-21. Marist held the advantage in kills 18-17, along with forcing five attacking errors from Canisius in the first.
In very similar fashion, the Red Foxes found themselves down early in the second. Canisius took 12 of the first 20 points to earn an early advantage. Marist would then go on to respond with an impressive 17-7 run to take the second set 25-19. Once again, the Red Foxes led the way in kills 18-12.
The Golden Griffins avoided a sweep by taking the third 25-23. Marist led by as much as two points in the set, but were unable to finish the match off. For the third straight set, the Red Foxes took the upper hand in kills 16-15. Marist continued to play on the front foot, but eight attacking errors from the home team sent the match to a fourth set.
Marist got off to a quick start in the fourth, taking the first three points of the set. Canisius continued to show a fight, leading to the teams being tied at 13. The Red Foxes would then go on a 12-4 run to win the fourth and final set 25-17.
For the fourth time in the last five matches, outside hitter Jordan Newblatt contributed with over 20 kills. The sophomore from Clarkston, Michigan chipped in with 31 kills, breaking a school-record for the most kills in a single match.
“It is definitely exciting and I couldn’t do it without McKinley Fox. She was putting balls in every spot I needed,” Newblatt said.
Sophomore Sasha van der Merwe, who has just returned from an ankle injury she suffered against Seton Hall on September 7th, played a critical role in the performance for the Red Foxes on Saturday. The outside hitter from Guelph, Canada contributed 11 kills and 11 points in her first home match since returning to the court. With Merwe returning from injury and the team gaining momentum, the team has a lot to accomplish in the second half of the season.
“It’s just about us being healthy and taking care of the ball,” coach Sean Bryon said.
Marist returns to play on October 10th at 2 p.m., when they face the Niagara Purple Eagles at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Red Foxes are 19-26 against Niagara all-time, including a five match win streak that stretched from 2015-2016.
Edited by Connor Kurpat
Photo from Marist Athletics