NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University volleyball team opens its 29th year of competition when it hosts three teams this weekend in the Western New York Invitational at the Gallagher Center on the Monteagle Ridge campus.
The invitational opens with Niagara hosting Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday. The Purple Eagles then return to action Saturday when they play Quinnipiac at noon and on Sunday they host Fordham at 3 p.m.
Eighth-year head coach Rocco Lucci welcomes 12 returning letterwinners, including all two starters from the 2005 squad, back to the court. The two returning starters are junior outside hitter Raelean Rush (Amherst, N.Y.) and junior setter Mallory Boron (Lockport, N.Y.).
Of the 16 roster players, there are five newcomers in outside hitters Jennifer Bryniarski (Amherst, N.Y.) and Holly Sahner (Dix Hills, N.Y.), middle hitter Kerri Heitner (Wantagh, N.Y.), liberos Natalia Martinez (Batavia, N.Y.) and Vanessa Schultz (Clarence, N.Y.). Bryniarski is a junior transfer from Daemen College.
Coastal is off to a 0-3 start after dropping matches to Georgia (3-0), UAB (3-0) and Morehead State (3-0) at the Georgia Invitational last weekend. The Chanticleers are led by Jill Nyhof who is hitting a team-best .258 and averaging 2.89 kills. Megan Pollard is averaging 2.56 digs and Laura Obert 0.78 blocks per match. As a squad, Coastal is hitting .102.
Quinnipiac is also 0-3 on the season after losing three matches to Wofford (3-0), University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (3-0) and Norfolk State (3-1) at the UMES Classic last weekend. The Bobcats are hitting .006 and averaging 8.5 kills per match. Ashley Angle leads the team with a .104 hitting percentage.
Fordham stands a 1-2 on the season after snapping a two-match losing streak at the Northern Arizona Invitational. It lost to San Jose State (3-0) and Northern Arizona (3-0), but beat Central Arkansas (3-2). Jamee Stimson is hitting .356 and averaging 3.36 kills per match. The Rams are hitting .215 while averaging 14.45 kills and 13.55 digs per outing.
In the all-time series, Niagara is 2-0 vs. Fordham and 1-0 vs. Quinnipiac. It will be the first meeting vs. Coastal Carolina.
