NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara volleyball team (1-10, 0-1 MAAC) lost a five-set thriller in its conference opener to Marist (6-8, 1-0 MAAC) on Saturday inside the Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles won the third and fourth sets, and held a 13-11 advantage in the final set, but eventually lost 27-25, 25-18, 15-25, 18-25, 16-14.

"We shouldn't have been in the situation to force the game to a fifth set," Niagara head coach Susan Clements said. "If we would have started the game like we finished, we would have had a different outcome."

After dropping a back-and-forth first set, 27-25, Niagara gave the second set away on costly errors (10 attack errors and 3 service errors). After the second-set intermission, the Purple Eagles came out on fire, winning the next two sets to force the decisive fifth game.

NU combined for 31 kills to just one error, an attacking percentage of .517, in the third and fourth sets. Most of the attacks were quick kills, turning the momentum to Niagara's side of the floor. The Purple Eagles held the advantage early in the fifth set, and three-straight late points gave NU a 13-11 lead, but with the score tied at 14-14, Marist's Lindsey Schmid recorded back-to-back kills for the win.

Sophomore Lauren Costello (Webster, N.Y.) set career-highs with 19 kills and a .424 hitting percentage. She also added six blocks for Niagara. Freshman setter Michelle James (Cincinnati, Ohio) set a Niagara freshman record with 56 assists in the loss, and added 11 digs for her fourth-straight double-double.

Shannon Ryan (Fairpoint, N.Y.) tied her career high with 13 kills while hitting at a .440 clip. She also chipped in with five service aces. Sam Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 digs and was spot on with her passing game.

"At the intermission, I challenged our team to be more aggressive and to stop all the mental errors," Clements added. "I thought Lauren, Shannon and Sam really stepped up after that. I know it doesn't reflect in the box score, but Sam's pass-receive was almost flawless."

No Purple Eagle had a negative attacking percentage for the first time all year. Freshmen Holly Allgeier (Louisville, Ky.) and Hannah Hedrick (Cincinnati, Ohio) each recorded double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Hedrick added a game-high 14 digs, five aces and four blocks, but also contributed five service errors and four receiving errors.

The Purple Eagles welcome the defending MAAC champion Siena Saints (1-8, 0-1 MAAC) to the Gallagher Center on Sunday for a 2 p.m. start. Click here to follow all the action via live stats.