NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara volleyball team (1-9) picked up their first victory of the season in a thrilling four-set match over rival Buffalo (3-8) on Tuesday inside the legendary 'Taps' Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles lost the first set, but stormed back to win the final three, 19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18.

The Purple Eagles gained a little momentum in the second set after the clutch serving of freshman Hannah Hedrick (Cincinnati, Ohio). Niagara rode that momentum to the second set win, but came out slow in the third set.

Trailing 12-9 in the third set, the Purple Eagles went on a 14-1 run behind more serving prowess from Rebecca Suchy (Lancaster, N.Y.), who rattled off nine straight-points, including three of her match-high six service aces.

"They have been chomping at the bit to get that first win all season," Niagara head coach Susan Clements said. "We knew it was just a matter of time before we found a way to win by competing and fighting hard and not letting the team across the net affect us."

Sophomore Lauren Costello (Webster, N.Y.) was one of three Purple Eagles to pound out 10 kills in the win. The middle blocker seemed to collect her kills at all the key moments, including a quick laser late in the fourth set to put Niagara up for good.

"Lauren was very offensive for us, working hard to put it away in big situations," Clements said. "She is really maturing for us."

Hedrick and Holly Allgeier (Louisville, Ky.) also collected 10 kills for NU. Costello attacked at a .348 clip, while Allgeier and Hedrick hit .286 and .172 respectively.

Michelle James (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded her third consecutive double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs. Sam Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio) handled a match-high 14 digs and recorded her second career kill on the final point to claim Niagara's first victory of the year.

The win, which was the second-straight over UB after 29 straight losses, snapped a nine-game slide.

"This team knew that it came here to turn this program around and that it wasn't going to be done over night," Clements added. "The sophomores were very confident because of last year's win over Buffalo. They knew that eventhough we are young, we are talented, and since they won last year, they knew it could be done."

The match was televised by Time Warner Sports Net and will air on tape delay locally on channel 13 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and again on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The Purple Eagles open up conference play this weekend when they host Marist on Saturday and Siena on Sunday. Both matches begin at 2 p.m.