Qunnipiac’s sweep of the Red Foxes on Sunday afternoon polished off a winless season on the road for Marist, who dropped all 19 games playing away from McCann Arena.
The Bobcats (16-12, 13-3 MAAC Conference), vying for a top spot in this years MAAC Tournament shut down the Red Foxes’ (3-23, 3-13 MAAC) offense, limiting Marist to a measly .091 hitting percentage.
The Red Foxes hindered themselves throughout their three-set loss, committing a total of 27 errors. 21 came on attacks, preventing the offense from ever finding their footing. Despite the ineffective offensive showing, freshman outside hitter Taylor Miller recorded double-digit kills with 13, while sophomore outside hitter tallied nine.
Quinnipiac quickly put the Red Foxes on their heels, winning the first five points of the first set. Marist chipped away throughout the set, trimming the deficit down to just one point on multiple occasions.
The Red Foxes finally knotted it up at 18, but a kill from graduate student opposite hitter Elena Giacomini gave the edge back to the Bobcats. Giacomini, Quinnipiac’s leader in kills on the season, ended the afternoon with 12. Marist failed to even the score back up following her timely kill, allowing Quinnipiac to take the first set 25-21.
Though Giacomini paced the Bobcat in scoring throughout the season, junior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes dominated the first set, slamming seven kills on 18 attempts for Quinnipiac in the winning effort. On the Marist side, sophomore outside hitter Sara Dasic and Miller paced the Red Foxes with four kills apiece.
Marist utilized a 5-0 run early in the second set to gain control, but Quinnipiac finally took the lead back at 13-12 on an ace from senior outside hitter Alexandra Tennon. The Bobcats never looked back after finally breaking through, scoring six of the next eight points to build a sturdy five-point lead.
The five-point edge was not enough; Marist stormed back to tie the score at 22 on a Dasic kill, then took the lead thanks to an ace from sophomore libero Katherine Thompson. At set point, Dasic barely sent an attack out of bounds to give Quinnipiac another chance. Gunes then drilled a kill down the line for the lead, and Dasic followed with a swing into the net to put Marist in an 0-2 hole, losing the second set 26-24.
Though Marist hammered 12 kills in the set, their 11 attack errors returned to bite them. The Red Foxes hit .022, supplying Quinnipiac with many free points.
The Bobcats and Red Foxes split the first 20 points of the set directly down the middle, good for a 10-10 tie. Quinnipiac then put their foot on the gas, scoring nine of the following 12 points to take a six-point advantage. The Bobcats never relinquished their lead, eventually winning the set 25-20 to complete the sweep.
Marist had no answer for Gunes; the outside hitter finished the match with 18 kills on an effective .326 hitting percentage, adding eight digs and two total blocks on the defensive end.
The Red Foxes, eliminated from MAAC Tournament contention, finish up their season at home next weekend. Though on track for their first season with single-digit wins since 2005 (excluding their 2020-21 COVID-19 abbreviated campaign), Marist has been solid at home, holding a 3-4 record at McCann Arena. They take on Canisius and Niagara to end their season, with the Golden Griffins up first on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Kira Crutcher
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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