For the second consecutive season, the Canisius Golden Griffins spoiled Marist’s senior night, this time defeating the Red Foxes in straight sets.
Marist (3-24, 3-14 MAAC Conference), playing for pride after being eliminated from postseason play last weekend, failed to win a set, extending their set-losing streak to nine. With the win, Canisius (15-13, 11-6 MAAC) keeps pace with Sacred Heart, jostling for the positioning in next weekend’s MAAC Tournament.
On a night celebrating its seniors, the Marist Red Foxes’ only double-digit kill scorers came from underclassmen; sophomore outside hitter Sara Dasic led with 14, and freshman outside hitter Taylor Miller followed closely with 12.
Before the first serve, Marist honored its five seniors: setter/right side hitter Jamison White, middle hitter Alyssa White, defensive specialists Sally Tietjen and Lillian Thomas, and setter Claire Lewis. Though the underclassmen make up the majority of the roster and the Red Foxes side of the court throughout most matches, the veterans have been key contributors to the team, offering a steady presence throughout the disappointing season.
Lewis quarterbacked a Marist offense that led the MAAC in kills last season, but was sidelined this fall due to a knee injury. Jamison White stepped up to handle the majority of the setting duties; the graduate transfer from New Hampshire played a larger role than what was likely expected of her when she chose to come to Poughkeepsie.
“She’s added a real good perspective… a calming factor,” said Marist head coach Sean Byron.
In Alyssa White’s four years as a Red Fox, she spent much of her time as one of the team’s two primary middle blockers, appearing in nearly every match over the past three years. White’s presence will be missed on the court as well as off of it, where she has been an exemplary student-athlete for the program.
“She’s an ambassador for our program across campus,” said Byron. “She’s a well-spoken kid, she is the president of the BSAA (Black Student-Athlete Alliance) and is just really involved on campus.”
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Three missed Canisius serves kept the Red Foxes in it early in the first, leaving the set tied at eight before the Griffs took off. They led 15-12 at the media timeout, then scored four straight with Byron calling both of his timeouts during the stretch.
Marist struggled offensively in the set, credit to Canisius’ intimidating block, which denied three Marist attacks and got big touches on countless other attempts. The big block altered Marist’s swings through the duration of the set, forcing many off-speed attacks that the Griffs’ back row often scooped up. Canisius won the set 25-19, with Marist only recording 10 kills on a .121 hitting percentage.
Marist kept up with Canisius in the early going of the second set, but once again trailed by a few points at the media timeout. This time, the Red Foxes came out of the break hot. Jamison White slammed a setter dump to the floor, and then Miller stuffed a swing from senior outside hitter Kara Zaucha for a solo block, tying the set at 15.
Though Marist continued to struggle on offense, timely kills helped the Red Foxes distance themselves from Canisius; kills from freshman middle hitter Sarah Bumstead and Miller put Marist up 23-20. Canisius did not quit, three points later they tied it with a kill from graduate student outside hitter Sofia Hedqvist, then took the lead a point later when Miller narrowly cut a cross-court shot out of bounds.
Byron called a timeout to regroup, which the Red Foxes effectively did as Miller found the court this time to keep Marist alive. Canisius continued to win the tied points past 25, keeping the pressure on the Red Foxes, who fought off four set points.
The Red Foxes eventually ran out of steam; after a missed serve by sophomore libero CC Potter-Pessoa, Sara Dasic sent a swing off the top of the net clinching a 28-26 win for Canisius.
The Golden Griffins built off of their strong end to the second, quickly taking a commanding 11-4 lead in the third set. Marist could not stop Zaucha, who scored three kills early on, leading to Marist burning both of their timeouts before even reaching five points scored.
The cushion proved enough for the Griffs; Marist got it down to two points at 22-20, prompting a Canisius timeout. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Hubert and Miller each scored a kill after the break, then a thunderous block from Dasic cut the deficit to one.
Hedqvist did not let the Red Foxes tie it, smashing her 10th kill of the night to push Canisius to match point, which they won when Dasic sailed an attack out of bounds.
Marist wraps up their season tomorrow against Niagara in McCann Arena at 2 p.m.; although they seemingly have nothing to play for, the Red Foxes’ senior leaders are ready to don the uniform one last time hoping to go out with a win.
“We want to play for the girls next to us and show them no matter what, we still put our best out there and play for each other,” said Tietjen.
“We know that the end is here so what can you do besides enjoy every moment?” added Alyssa White.
Edited by Hayden Shapiro
Graphic and photo from Kira Crutcher
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