Senior Michole Daluisio is 20th in the country in digs per game. |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – After a successful non-conference schedule that has it second the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standing, the Niagara University volleyball team begins its 15th season of conference play this weekend when it travels down state to meet Saint Peter’s College and Manhattan College. The Purple Eagles tangle with the Peahens Saturday at 2 p.m. and with the Lady Jaspers at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Sporting a five-match winning streak, Niagara will be chasing the best MAAC record a Purple Eagle squad has posted in the 15-year-span. In its first league season, Niagara went 6-1 and reached the MAAC Tournament.
Niagara is 9-5 in league openers and plays Saint Peter’s for the second time in a conference-opening weekend. In 1996, the Purple Eagles lost to the Peahens in three games in the legendary Taps Gallagher Center. Last season, Niagara opened with a pair of wins over Siena and Marist in the Gallagher Center.
Senior Michelle LeSouder (Stratford, Ont.) leads the team in hitting percentage (.240) and is second in kills (3.06) and blocks (0.91) per game. Classmate Stephanie Hopkins (Tonawanda, N.Y./Sweet Home) tops the team in kills per game (3.56) and is second in digs per game (3.60). Senior Karen Simpson (Rochester, N.Y.) leads the MAAC and the team in blocks per game (1.27). Senior libero Micole Daluisio (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) is ranked 20th in the NCAA, second in the league and first on the team in digs per game (5.39). As a team, Niagara is 18th in digs per game (18.27).
Saint Peter’s posted a 9-8 non-conference record and has won six of its last seven matches. The Peahens only loss was in four games to Florida Atlantic.
Senior Gulhan Cakcak (3.46) and junior Serra Soylu (3.00) lead the team in kills per game and Gulhan tops the squad and the MAAC in aces (32). Junior Sasha Pshenychka is hitting a team-best .276 with 51 blocks.
Manhattan is enters the weekend as a winner in two of its last four matches. The Lady Jaspers went 2-1 last weekend in the FDU Tournament, but then lost in three games at Fordham on Tuesday.
Senior middle hitter Maggie Pfeifer leads the Manhattan attack. The four-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Week is hitting a team-best .334 with 4.0 kills per game and a squad-leading 56 blocks. Classmate Megan O’Dorisio is averaging 4.03 kills and 2.74 digs per game. Sophomore Ashley Watson has a team-best 2.79 digs per game.
Niagara looks to gain ground in the series with both Saint Peter’s and Manhattan. The Peahens lead the series 16-4 and have won the last two meetings. Niagara’s last victory in the series was in 2002 when it won in four games at the Gallagher Center. The Lady Jaspers also lead the series, 11-6. Last year, Niagara beat Manhattan in four games on Monteagle Ridge. It was the first victory over the Lady Jaspers for the Purple Eagles since Oct. 1, 1995.
