NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Niagara (3-7, 1-0 MAAC) picked up a. four set win over Quinnipiac (1-8, 0-1 MAAC) Saturday afternoon to start MAAC play with a win. The Purple Eagles dropped the first set, 16-25, and then went on to win the next three, 27-25, 25-23, and 25-19.
Match Recap:
First Set
• Quinnipiac took the first two points of the set, before NU got on the board via a
Lexi Bapst kill.
• The teams would trade the next three points before Quinnipiac went on a 3-0 run to take a 6-3 lead.
• Seven points later, the Bobcats had a 10-5 lead over Niagara, which then grew to a 14-8 advantage.
• Niagara would call timeout with the score 16-9 in favor of the visitors.
• NU's 10th point of the set came from
Jenna Vogen, making it a 17-10 game.
• Quinnipiac was the first team to 20, taking a 20-12 lead over NU.
• A 3-1 run by NU made it a 23-15 game, but Quinnipiac would hold on for a 25-16 set win.
Set 2
• Niagara and Quinnipiac battled in the second set with the lead trading hands multiple times.
• The Purple Eagles found themselves in a 17-11 hole when they would go on an 7-2 run to make it a 19-18 game in favor of the Bobcats.
• During the burst,
Kinga Wronska,
Allie Simpson and
Laryssa Imbuzeiro would record kills, while Quinnipiac had multiple errors to help NU get within one.
• A Wronska kill would tie the game at 23-23, followed by a point for the Bobcats to give them set point.
• A NU timeout would result in back-to-back points for NU, giving the Purple Eagles a 25-24 lead.
• After QU tied it at 25 Niagara would get a kill from Wronska followed by an attack error from the Bobcats to give the set to NU and complete the comeback set win.
Set 3
• Quinnipiac would take the first four points of set three, but Niagara would quickly regain momentum and tie the game at 6-6.
• The game would remain tied at 11-11 before NU broke off a four-point run to take a 15-11 lead. Wronska capped off the run for the Purple and White.
• Niagara would maintain its lead and get to 20 points first, again with a kill from the freshman from Poland.
• Quinnipiac would claw back to tie it at 23-23 but Niagara wouldn't let them retake the lead as
Taylor Allen and Wronska closed the set with a back-to-back kills.
Set 4
• Niagara jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in set four, getting a pair of kills from Allen.
• The Purple Eagles would maintain its lead until Quinnipiac scored back-to-back points of its own to tie the game at 12-12.
• The Purple and White didn't waste time going back up by three (17-14) thanks to a pair of kills from Simpson and some Bobcat errors.
•
Lexi Bapst gave NU a 20-16 lead over Quinnipiac in part of a Purple Eagle 6-3 run to end the set and give Niagara a 25-19 win.
Niagara Notes
• The Purple Eagles improve to 17-4 all-time against Quinnipiac.
• The win snapped a five-match losing streak for the Purple and White.
• Wronska finished with a double-double, the first of her career, with 16 kills and 15 digs.
• Niagara finished with 52 kills, second most this season (57, vs. Penn).
• Bapst also finished with a double-double, recording 10 kills and 15 digs.
• Imbuzeiro collected a team-best seven blocks, a season-high for the sophomore middle blocker.
• Bapst reached double-digit kills for the second time this season and first time since Sept. 2.
• Simpson had nine kills and a team-high hitting percentage of .474, followed by Vogen with a .333 hitting percentage (five kills).
•
Kelly McArthur led Niagara with a season-high 21 assists, one shy of her career-best 22 set last season.
•
Kylie Blessing recorded a career-high 16 assists.
• Joining Wronska and Bapst with double-digit digs was libero
Bella Peroni, who finished with 10.
• As a team, Niagara recorded a hitting percentage of .216, with 52 kills, three service aces, nine total blocks, and 59 digs.
Up Next
• Niagara will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when it welcomes Fairfield to the Gallagher Center for a 1 p.m. start on ESPN3.
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