Scoresheets

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles toppled the Iona Gaels, 25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 32-34, 15-12, in a five-set marathon on Sunday.

"Anytime you go to five sets it is inevitably an exciting match," head coach Vilis Ozols said. "It was an important one for us and could be significant in determining a playoff spot as we're very close to Iona in the playoff race."

Several Purple Eagles (8-13, 5-6 MAAC) set career-highs in the five-set thriller.

A day after Nicole Matheis and Alexis Gray set season-highs in kills and assists, respectively, the pair reached career highs in those categories in the match.  Matheis's 25 kills are the most by a Purple Eagle since Amanda Sedore's 26 against on Iona on Nov. 2, 2013 and the most in the MAAC this season. Gray's 56 assists are the most by a Purple Eagles since Michelle James had 59 versus Manhattan on Nov. 4, 2012. The pair also had double-doubles in the match with Matheis chipping in with 14 digs and Gray with 13 digs.

Rylee Hunt's 42 digs are two shy of the program record of 44 set by Micole Dalusio in 2002 and are the most by a MAAC player this season. Taylor Edmonds had a career-best 13 kills and added five digs, Rayenne Hale had a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, and Melissa McGwin had 11 kills and a match-best three blocks. 

Niagara's .276 hitting percentage was its second highest of the season while also tying a season-high with 12 aces.  

"I was very excited to see Nicole play as well as she did that she was a huge difference maker all weekend," Ozols added.  "The bottom line today was that this was a complete team effort that resulted in an important team victory."

The teams alternated set wins with the Purple Eagles taking the first and third and Iona (7-17, 4-8 MAAC) taking the second and fourth.  Niagara opened the fourth set leading 8-1; however, both teams battled deep into the set with the Gaels eventually prevailing, 34-32. In the fifth set with the score tied at 8-8, Niagara scored seven of the final 11 points to pull out the win.

The Purple Eagles start a five-match road slate starting on Wednesday against Canisius at 7 p.m.

Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and for volleyball updates at @NiagaraVB. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.