Niagara Defeats Rival Canisius to Advance to Final
MAAC Sports
Jersey City, N.J. - Top
Seeded Niagara defeated fourth seeded Canisius 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 33-31) to advance to the 2011 MAAC
Volleyball Championship match. The Purple Eagles, who are seeking their third straight
title, will meet the winner of the Fairfield-Siena semifinal.
Niagara (24-8) had another strong defensive performance and came up with points at crucial stages in the match to win its sixth straight MAAC Tournament match. The Purple Eagles topped Canisius (15-15) for the seventh consecutive match as the teams played against each other in the MAAC Tournament for the first time since 1992.
"It was an emotional match today," head coach Susan Clements said. "Canisius really put us in difficult situations to sideout. We were able to scramble and then our experience in the championships helped us to pull out when it was close in the final points."
Niagara held off Canisius in the opening set. The Purple Eagles defense provided big digs and blocks for an early lead and when Canisius cut the lead to one on several occasions, NU didn't fold. The key point in the set came from a Kari Honomichl's kill to give the top seed a 23-20 lead and a kill by Honomichl won the set for NU, 25-21.
The Purple Eagles battled back from an early deficit to take the second set. Canisius was up 18-15 to force a NU timeout. After the restart, the Purple Eagles climb back into the match. Three straight kills by first-teamer Hannah Hedrick gave NU its first lead in the set, 22-21, and won the set on an attacking error, 25-22.
Both teams competed deep into the third set. With Canisius up 23-21, kills by Honomichl and Amanda Wilken tied the match at 24-24. The teams would then trade match points seven times until kills by Wilken and Hedrick finished the set, 33-31, and the match for the Purple Eagles.
Three Purple Eagles registered double-digit kills. Hedrick and Honomichl led the match with 15 apiece, while Wilken had 11 kills for a .846 hitting percentage. Libero of the year Sam Morgan had a match-high 18 digs to extend her NCAA-best double-digit digs streak to 128 matches. Nicole Bayer led the match with 39 assists.
Niagara will face the winner of the No. 2 Fairfield/No. 3 Siena match on Sunday at 1 p.m.