Box Score

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara volleyball team rallied for a 2-1 deficit to top the Iona Gaels in five sets (25-18, 13-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-6) on Sunday to keep its overall, conference and home winning streaks active.

“Our experience was key in the comeback today,” head coach Susan Clements said. “The upperclassmen have had their backs to the wall before. It was good to see our determination pull us through, however, we should not have put ourselves in that situation.”

Niagara (18-7, 12-0 MAAC) faced adversity for the second straight match and persevered to pull out another five-set win over Iona (10-10, 7-5 MAAC). The Purple Eagles fought off four match points in the second meeting with Iona last season en route to clinching their first regular season title. NU now has won its last eight meetings with the Gaels, including defeating them in the 2010 MAAC Championship match.

The Purple Eagles needed a career-day by sophomore Ellen Senf to extend their overall winning streak to 13, conference winning streak to 31 and home winning streak 17 matches. Senf’s 24 kills were a career-high and the most by a Purple Eagle this season.

“Ellen really stepped up offensively, hitting some great shots and overpowering their defenders,” Clements said.

NU started the match well, taking the first set 25-18 behind Senf’s 11 kills. However, Niagara struggled on offense and Iona took advantaged over the next two sets. Iona tied the match at 1-1 and had a .409 hitting percentage (11 kills, two errors) while NU committed nine errors.

The Gaels never trailed in the third set and won the set, 25-20, to take a 2-1 and put the Purple Eagles on the brink of their first home conference defeat in over three seasons.

In the fourth set, Niagara went on a 9-1 run for a 15-9 advantage and tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-21 win. The Purple Eagles saved their best performance for the deciding set. NU sprinted to a 7-0 lead and eventually held an 11-2 advantage. A kill by Hannah Hedrick ended the match at 15-6.

Kari Honomichl and Hedrick each recorded double-doubles for the third time in as many matches this week. Honomichl had 14 kills and 14 digs and Hedrick had 12 kills and 15 digs. Sam Morgan extended her double-digit digs streak to 121 matches with a match-high 20 digs. Freshman Nicole Bayer had her second straight game with a double-double with 56 assists and 13 digs.

Niagara heads on the road this weekend with matches at Saint Peter’s (Oct. 29) and Manhattan (Oct. 30).