WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Niagara volleyball team (4-2) split a pair of matches in the UNCW Classic on Saturday evening. The Purple Eagles defeated the Columbia Lions in their first game of the classic before falling to the host, UNC Wilmington, in the night cap.

“We fought through a difficult match behind aggressive serving and playing hard,” head coach Susan Clements said. “For our first road victory I am very happy with the outcome.”

Niagara 3, Columbia 1
Niagara convincingly beat Columbia (1-1) in its first road match of the year 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19. After splitting the opening two sets, the Purple Eagles trailed only once (12-11 in the third set) on their way to winning the last two sets.  Sophomore Hannah Hedrick (Cincinnati, Ohio) continued her great form to start the season by leading the team with 15 kills and was among four Purple Eagles to have double-digit digs.

Michelle James (Cincinnati, Ohio) returned to the lineup after missing Niagara’s mid week contest against Syracuse due to injury and dished out a game-high 49 assists. Shannon Ryan (Fairport, N.Y.) had a game-high five service aces.

UNC Wilmington 3, Niagara 0
The Purple Eagles fell to the host in straight-sets 25-20, 25-22, 25-23 in the final match of day one of the classic. Hedrick provided another strong performance for the Purple Eagles, racking up a game-high 19 kills. Amanda Wilken (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the team with a .500 (7-14) attacking percentage and Sam Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the game with 28 digs.  

Niagara concludes the classic with a match against UNC Wilmington (3-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m.