Marist Advances to Semifinal with Five Set Win Over Iona
MAAC Sports
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Top seeded Marist College defeated eighth seeded Iona College in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 MAAC Volleyball Championship at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Marist controlled the first set for the majority of the time jumping out to10-6, 15-9, and 20-12 leads in the first set. With set point for the Red Foxes and the score at 24-18, Marist’s Amanda Schlegel picked up a service error that would begin an 8-0 run for the Gaels and would end the set at 26-24 and give the Gaels a 1-0 match lead. Catrina Warren for Iona and Kelsey Lahey for Marist both had six kills in the first set.
Iona road its hot streak into the second set, gaining an early 5-1 lead before Marist would eventually tie up the set a 6-6 after a kill by Schlegel. The Red Foxes and Gaels would have six more ties and three lead changes in the set before Marist would win the set 25-21 on five kills from Lahey. Schlegel also assisted on 12 of the Red Foxes 11 kills during the second set.
Marist won the third set 25-22 to take a 2-1 match lead over Iona. Iona took an early 2-1 set lead before Marist would tie the match at 2-2 and take a 3-2 lead for the final lead change of the set after an attack error by Iona’s Taylor Cembalisty. The Red Foxes would hold leads as high as six points on three separate occasions during the set before closing out the set.
The fourth set seen the most back and forth action of the match. With 10 total ties and the latest coming at 23-23, Iona would score on a kill by Karly White and a kill by Kassandra Darnaby to take the fourth set 25-23 and force the match into a fifth and final set.
Marist never trailed in the final set, scoring the sets first five points and getting a lead as large as nine points at the end of the set winning 15-7.
Lahey and Warren both registered match highs of 19 kills. Brooke Zywick led Marist with 25 digs, while Warren recorded a match high 30 digs. Schlegel had a match high 61 assists for the Red Foxes.
Marist advances to the semifinal round of the championship and plays tomorrow at 5:00p.m. on ESPN3 against fourth seeded Fairfield.
Iona will play tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in the out-bracket of the MAAC Volleyball Championship against tenth seeded Quinnipiac.