Junior Michelle LeSouder |
The Niagara University volleyball team (7-16, 5-3) has postseason play on the line when it travels to Buffalo Saturday for a match against cross-town rival Canisius (10-15, 3-5).
The 1 p.m. match is at the Koessler Athletic Center and admission to the event is $3.
SETTING THE SCENE
Postseason play hangs in the balance for the Purple Eagles Saturday. Niagara needs to beat their arch rival Canisius and hope for either Saint Peter’s or Rider to lose one of their matches this weekend for the Purple Eagles to earn their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference postseason bid since 1995.
With a 5-3 record, Niagara is in fourth place, behind Fairfield (6-1), Iona (6-1) and Saint Peter’s (5-2), and ahead of Rider (4-3). With a win over Canisius, the Purple Eagles improve to 6-3. The best Rider can finish is 6-3, but Niagara has the tiebreaker with its win last weekend.
Should the Purple Eagles, Rider and Saint Peter’s end in a three-way tie at 6-3 or 5-4, Niagara would finish out of playoff contention due to its loss to Saint Peter’s and Rider’s victory over the Peahens.
The last time Niagara beat Canisius in Buffalo was Sept. 19, 2001, with a 3-1 victory in non-conference action.
A LOOK AT THE PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara is on a modest two-match winning streak entering the match. The Purple Eagles won their first road matches of the season last weekend with a 3-2 victory at Rider and a 3-1 win at Loyola.
Statistically, Niagara is hitting .183 as a team and allowing opponents to hit .237. Junior middle hitter Karen Simpson continues to lead the Purple Eagles with a .286 hitting percentage and is second in blocks (56). Classmate Michelle LeSouder is the only other attacker hitting .200 percentage-or-better (.252). She leads the squad in kills per game (4.20) and is third in blocks (47).
Junior Jennifer Hansford had been handling all the setting duties, averaging 9.93 assists per game. She is also one of three players digging two-or-more attacks a game (2.28).
Defensively, Niagara is digging a lot of balls. Junior libero Micole Daluisio tops the team with 4.86 a game, while junior outside attacker Erin Graham is second (2.93). Graham is also second on the squad in kills per game (3.89).
At the net, sophomore Annie Wachob leads the team in solo blocks (22) and assisted blocks (55).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Canisius
Canisius can throw a wrench into Niagara’s postseason hopes with a victory Saturday. The Golden Griffins have lost their last two matches and are 2-3 in their last five outings.
Canisius is hitting .192 and allowing foes to hit .197. The Golden Griffins also average 17.26 digs per match.
Offensively, Canisius is led by senior outside attacker Christina Wildes. She is averaging a team-best 4.51 kills per game and hitting .201. Wildes also leads with 28 aces and averages 3.22 digs a game.
Sophomore middle blocker Mary Boller it hitting a team-leading .219 and has a team-best 92 blocks.
A pair of freshmen lead Canisius in assists and digs. Rookie Lauren Lackovich is averaging 10.85 assists, and classmate Jess Stackhouse is digging 4.74 attacks per game.
SERIES RECORDS
Niagara trails in the all-time series with Canisius, 23-18. The Golden Griffins have won two of the last three outings, but the Purple Eagles were victorious in the last.
Last year, Erin Graham had a match-high 24 kills and 11 digs, and classmate Michelle LeSouder had 20 kills. Defensively, Niagara was led by Micole Daluisio with 17 digs.
Canisius had four players in double digits in kills. Kim Hoffman had 21 kills and 17 digs, Christina Wildes 18 kills and 13 digs, Mary Boller 13 kills and six blocks and Leigh Launhardt 10 kills and six blocks.
GRAHAM, DALUISIO PICK UP WEEKLY HONORS
Juniors Erin Graham and Micole Daluisio were honored this week as the MAAC’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
Graham averaged 23.5 kills per match and 5.22 per game. She posted a pair of double-doubles with 22 kills and a season-high 25 digs vs. Rider, and a career and team high 25 kills and 10 digs at Loyola. For the week Graham totaled 47 kills, four aces, one assist, five solo blocks and five block assists.
Daluisio led Niagara in digs in both matches. The libero dug a season and game-high 35 attacks in Niagara’s win over Rider. Daluisio added a team-high 23 digs in the victory at Loyola. She now has eight matches with 20-or-more digs.
MILLENNIUM MARK
Junior Erin Graham became the third Niagara player in school history to reach the millennium mark in kills. The outside attacker had 47 kills this past weekend to reach the mark. She has 1,044 career kills and ranks second on the all-time list.
ALL-TIME LEADER
Junior Michelle LeSouder continues to build on her school record as Niagara’s career leader in kills (1,305).
LeSouder entered the season with 948 kills and has 357 going into Saturday’s match.
CHART MOVERS
Juniors Jennifer Hansford and Micole Daluisio continue to climb the Niagara career records chart.
Hansford is currently second on the career assists chart with 2,588 assists.
Daluisio is second on the career list with 1,265 digs. She needs137 digs to move into first past Kelly Cruttenden (1994-97).
SINGLE-SEASON WATCH LIST
Micole Daluisio is slowly inching toward the top 10 in digs in a single season. She enters Saturday’s match needing eight digs to bump Kathy Au (415, 1994) from second on the list. Daluisio holds the singles season mark for digs. She had 495 in 2002.
Jennifer Hansford is climbing the single-season assists list. She has 854 assists, two shy of fourth on the chart.
Michelle LeSouder is currently sixth on the single-season kills list. She needs 34 to move into fifth.
MAAC STATISTICS
Niagara has six players ranked among the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leaders as of Nov. 8.
In conference matches, Micole Daluisio leads the league in digs (5.28), Jennifer Hansford is sixth in assists (11.25) and Annie Wachob is fourth in blocks (1.08).
Erin Graham ranks fourth in kills (4.50) and aces (0.50) per game. Michelle LeSouder is fourth in kills per game (4.50) and hitting percentage (.317). Karen Simpson is eighth in hitting percentage (.291).
Niagara also leads the conference in blocks, averaging 2.42 per game.
