NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara breezed past the Bucknell Bison in straight sets, 3-0 (25- 11, 25-14, 25-23), in its first match of the Niagara/Canisius Invitational on Friday night at the Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles’ .362 attacking percentage was their second highest mark of the season.

Tonight's match raised funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night Walk”. The Niagara volleyball team and the Western New York Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society partnered to bring awareness to all blood cancers and accepted donations throughout the match.

“Being able to support a great cause and one close to me personally is wonderful,” head coach Susan Clements said. “We had great support from our families and the Niagara campus.”

Niagara coasted to a 25-11 first set win behind a 7-0 run and .519 attacking percentage. The Purple Eagles kept up the great hitting in the second set en route to winning 25-14 for a 2-0 lead. The Bison, however, didn’t go away quietly. Trailing 15-10 in the third set, Bucknell used an 8- 2 run for its first lead of the match. NU regained the lead from three-straight kills from Kari Honomichl, including back-to-back aces. The match ended after consecutive errors by Bucknell.

Honomichl tied her season-high with 10 kills and was joined by Hannah Hedrick who also had 10 kills to lead the team.  Ellen Senf and Amanda Wilken provided eight and six kills, respectively. Michelle James led the match with 31 assists and Sam Morgan led the match with 14 kills, bringing her double-digit digs streak to 71 matches.

The Purple Eagles had a .591 to .072 attacking percentage advantage and had an 11-3 advantaged in aces.

“We really controlled the match from the service line tonight,” Clements said. “We kept Bucknell on the defense all match and that was our plan.”

Niagara continues the Niagara/Canisius Invitational against the unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers (7-0) at noon and the Colgate Raiders at 7 p.m. on Saturday.