Following a first-set victory by Marist volleyball, Canisius convincingly won the ensuing three sets to hand the Red Foxes another 3-1 loss.
Sunday’s loss puts the Marist Red Foxes (0-11) at 0-2 in MAAC Conference play while the Canisius Golden Griffins (6-7) move to 2-0 in the conference. Sophomore and senior outside hitters Lauren Hubert and Kara Zaucha dominated the match, combining to score 31 kills, six aces and six total blocks for Canisius.
For Marist, freshman Taylor Miller and sophomore Sara Dasic carried the workload for the Marist offense. The duo of outside hitters recorded 27 of the Red Foxes’ 45 kills.
Serving issues ultimately made all the difference in the first set. In Marist’s 26-24 victory, the Griffs missed six serves, giving the Red Foxes a barrage of free points. On the other end of the court, the Red Foxes served tough for three aces and zero errors.
Graduate student setter Jamison White swung the momentum in Marist’s favor on her trip to the service line midway through the set. On consecutive points, she induced an overpass that resulted in Marist kills, one from senior middle hitter Alyssa White and the other from sophomore middle hitter Trinity Woods. The back-to-back points gave Marist their first lead of the match, which they did not relinquish until the end of the set.
Zaucha, who led both sides with six kills in the first set, took the lead back with a kill for Canisius at 22-21, and then a successful attack by graduate student outside hitter Sofia Hedqvist put the Griffs two points away from winning the first set. Marist rallied back, and with a tie score at 25, Zaucha missed a crucial serve to give the Red Foxes a set-point opportunity. Miller found the floor to close the book on the set, presenting Marist their first lead in a match on the season.
Canisius quickly put their serving woes behind them in the second set. The Griffs stormed out to an 8-3 lead, with five points coming off aces. They also cleaned up their errors, only missing one serve, while Marist missed three serves of their own.
Marist quickly battled back thanks to continuous contributions from Miller and Dasic, staying within reach of Canisius, but never once evening the score.
The third set provided more of the same; Canisius stretched out to an early lead, going on a 10-2 run to take a 13-7 advantage. Despite some Marist runs, they never let the Red Foxes within three points, winning the set comfortably, 25-19.
Unforced errors plagued Marist at the service line, the net and on their attacks. Canisius’ attack gave Marist the most trouble – the Golden Griffins landed 15 kills on a .462 hitting percentage in the third.
Sophomore libero Katherine Thompson opened up the crucial fourth set with an ace to give Marist the lead, but it swiftly went downhill. Canisius scored the following eight points, making Marist’s already uphill battle much more difficult.
Canisius then cruised to a dominant 25-13 victory, winning the match 3-1. The Griffs completely shut down the Marist offense in the final set. Though they only recorded three blocks, Canisius held Marist to a paltry -.033 hitting percentage. Marist ended the day hitting just .163, while the Golden Griffs finished at an impressive .315.
Marist entered Sunday’s match on the heels of a 3-1 defeat at Niagara in their opening match of MAAC play just one day prior. Their win in the second set matched the number of sets won throughout the out-of-conference schedule. Marist went winless in a challenging 10-game slate, only winning one set against Rhode Island.
Three Red Foxes swung for double-digit kills against Niagara: Dasic with 14, freshman right side/middle hitter Sarah Bumstead scored 13 and Miller tallied 12. Marist could not slow the Purple Eagles’ attack at the net; Niagara converted 50 kills at an effective .270 hitting percentage.
Marist once again is on the road for their next matchup; the Red Foxes travel to Loudonville on Wednesday to face off with Siena at 6 p.m. Still in search of their first win on the season, Marist has an opportunity to do so against a team they have been recently successful against. The Red Foxes have won 10 of their last 12 matchups with the Saints, including the previous three times the two teams have faced off.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Stockton Photo
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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