Marist came out flat in a crucial Friday night matchup against Canisius; the Golden Griffins won in four, and the Red Foxes posted a hitting percentage below .100 in each of their lost sets.
The Red Foxes (7-15, 5-5 MAAC) entered the match clinging to the sixth and final seed in the MAAC Tournament playoff picture, and had an opportunity to tie itself with Canisius (9-11, 7-3 MAAC) for fifth place. With the loss, Marist is knotted up in a three-way tie for sixth place.
Marist played its first game of the season without its leader in kills, Sara Dasic; the junior outside hitter injured her ankle in the Red Foxes’ 3-1 win over Merrimack on Oct. 17 and was removed from Marist’s 3-0 loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 18.
Sophomore outside hitter Eden Bristow got the start in Dasic’s place, and she finished with seven kills but made five errors. No Red Fox reached double-digit kills, but three ended with eight: freshman right-side hitter Ava Lanzetta, sophomore middle blocker Sarah Bumstead and freshman outside hitter Mallory Reck.
Sophomore right-side hitter Emma Isroff torched Marist with 12 kills on 24 swings, leading an efficient Canisius offense that finished the evening with a solid .180 hitting percentage. Junior libero Brenda Reynaga led the Griffs with four aces, as the team landed a total of 11 in the match.
Neither coach felt the need to burn a timeout in the match’s first 42 points, as the Red Foxes and Golden Griffiths stayed within a few points of each other. Both sides controlled the net defensively, each recording four blocks.
Three straight Marist kills gave the Red Foxes a 22-20 advantage, and they reached set point first at 24-23. There, Bumstead seemingly clinched the set with a block that landed deep on Canisius’s side of the court.
However, Reck collided with the net, awarding the Griffs with a free point. A service error by Isroff gave the Red Foxes another set-point opportunity, but senior setter Ella Bourque evened the score with a back-breaking setter dump.
Consecutive attack errors from Bumstead and Reck gifted Canisius with a sloppy first set victory; Marist hit .068 and committed a total of 14 errors in the set.
Canisius jumped all over Marist to start the second, swiftly winning 10 of the first 12 points to immediately put the set out of reach. The Red Foxes never got the deficit under seven points.
The Griffs utterly dominated Marist for the duration of the set. They won 25-13, overpowering the Red Foxes with a .429 hitting percentage and five aces. Canisius limited Marist’s offense to another nauseating hitting percentage (.036) and even blocked four attacks.
Marist regrouped after the disastrous frame, winning 25-18 in the third. Early on, the set went back and forth, but a 7-1 run gave the Red Foxes a comfortable 16-10 lead.
The Red Foxes’ offense finally began clicking after a woeful start. Reck got going, ripping five kills on 12 swings and securing the set with a block on senior middle blocker Bella Mosquera. Marist, as a whole, improved defensively as well. The Red Foxes did a much better job picking up the Griffs’ off-speed attacks, ultimately limiting them to a .105 hitting percentage.
Canisius threatened to put the match away by taking a quick 11-6 lead in the fourth, but a quick 6-2 run brought the Red Foxes back within striking distance.
The Golden Griffiths countered with four straight points, effectively stiffling Marist’s run. They downed the Red Foxes from there, outscoring Marist 8-5 to take the set 25-17, and the match 3-1.
In dire need of a win to salvage the weekend trip to upstate New York, Marist takes on Niagara on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Purple Eagles are 8-2 in the MAAC this year, presenting a daunting matchup for the Red Foxes.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Celia Green
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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