NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University volleyball team (5-17, 1-2) snapped a four-match losing streak and recorded its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory of the season with a three-game (30-21, 30-27, 30-26) win over Rider (10-11, 0-2) Friday night in the Gallagher Center.
"It was a good team win. Everyone did contribute," Niagara head coach Rocco Lucci said. "This was one of the first times we didn’t let up strings of points like we have been. The fact we played tentatively on Wednesday forced us to be aggressive in practice and that carried over to tonight’s match.
"There were times when I cheered because I could see us executing things we did from drills in practice," Lucci continued. "I could see us transferring that hard work into our performance on the court."
Niagara was led offensively by sophomore Michelle LeSouder (Stratford, Ont.) who had a team-high 11 kills. Classmate Micole Daluisio (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) had a match-high 15 digs and senior defensive specialist Jessica McAndrew (Ellicottville, N.Y./Ellicottville Central) added 12 digs.
In game one, the Purple Eagles scored nine of the first 12 points to take a 9-3 lead. Niagara had multiple runs of three points that gave it a 27-18 lead late in the game. Rider attempted a mini-comeback, scoring three points to trail by eight, 29-21, but Niagara closed the game on a kill.
Niagara weathered a battle from Rider in game two. The Broncos led 9-6 before the Purple Eagles went on a 6-2 run to take the lead 12-11. The teams traded sets of points until Rider went on a 9-3 run to take a 26-23 lead after the squads were tied at 20 all. Niagara rallied by scoring seven of the next eight points to win the game.
The Purple Eagles started game three with an 11-1 run. Rider then scored five of the next six points before Niagara answered by scoring six-straight points to lead 18-6. The Broncos responded with a 6-1 run to trail 19-12. A four-point Niagara run and then a six-point Rider run left the score at 23-18. The Purple Eagles then out-scored the Broncos 7-6 down the stretch for the win.
Rider was led by Megan Smith with 12 kills and Stefanie Lombardo with 11 kills and 12 digs.
Niagara returns to action Saturday when it hosts Loyola at 1 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
