Box Score | Scoresheets

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara volleyball team captured a hard fought 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 27-29, 29-27) win over archrival Canisius on Saturday afternoon for its 22nd straight win over a conference opponent.

Niagara (8-7, 3-0 MAAC) held off Canisius (4-9, 0-3 MAAC) in four sets to claim the first point in the season-long Battle of the Bridge competition between the two archrivals. The Purple Eagles extended their overall home winning streak to 10 matches, which ranks ninth in the nation, and have won 18 straight conference home matches and five straight over their rivals.

“The crowd was great today; we had huge supports from other athletic teams, our families and the student body and that atmosphere to play in was really energizing," head coach Susan Clements said, who is now tied with Barb Green for most wins in program history (70).  "We have been on the road a lot. We practiced hard in the gym and comfortable in those surroundings. It is a tough travel for opponents and I think that plays into our advantage at home.”

After taking the first two sets, the Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins went deep into the third and fourth sets. Niagara opened the match with a 7-2 lead en route to taking the set, 25-16, and road that momentum with a solid second set where the Purple Eagles held Canisius to a negative hitting percentage.

In the third set, the Purple Eagles had two match points but were unable to finish off the Golden Griffins as they would take the set 29-27. In the fourth set, both teams had a chance to claim the set. A kill by Kari Honomichl tied the match at 27-27 and an attacking error by Canisius opened the door for NU to finish the match. Amanda Wilken would end the match with a ferocious kill, 29-27.

“A lot of the momentum swing was due to our mistakes, which was uncharacteristic," Clements said. "Canisius started to push the tempo and caught us in transition a lot, so we really focused on channeling our attackers to hit in certain areas and when we got the dig to give it to our outsides to put it away.”

Senior Hannah Hedrick led the match with 18 kills and had 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Honomichl and Wilken had 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Senior libero Sam Morgan led the match with 32 digs and freshman setter Nicole Bayer had a match-high 40 assists.

Niagara will host its second annual Block Blood Cancers match on Sunday at Noon versus Syracuse. The match will be broadcast via tape-delay by Lockport Community Television (LCTV).