Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara Purple Eagle volleyball team opened the home portion of their schedule on Friday night as they hosted Purdue Fort Wayne. The Purple Eagles fell in five sets to the Mastodons after taking the second and third sets.
First Set
The Mastodons came out firing in the first set as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead before the Purple Eagles called a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Purple Eagles strung together three straight points but ultimately could not recover from the early deficit. Niagara dropped the opening set 25-13.
Lexi Bapst had three kills in the opening set on just five attempts, she also had six receptions. Jenna Vogen and Kinga Wronska each had two kills for the Purple Eagles. Both Casey Brown and Paisley Ka'ahanui had three assists in the first set.
Second Set
The second set started with the teams trading points as they were tied at six through 12 points. Niagara went on a 7-0 run and took a 13-6 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne finished the set on a 14-12 run but they were unable to complete the comeback as Niagara took the set 25-20 to tie the match at one.
Niagara used a committee of players on offense as six different Purple Eagles registered a kill in the second set. Wronska and Laryssa Imbuzeiro both three kills, Megan Bruno had two kills, while Payton Lee, Cassie Seminoff, and Bapst all had one kill. Niagara had six blocks in the second set, Imbuzeiro had four block assists along with one solo block.
Third Set
In the third set, both teams came out battling once again as they looked to take the vital third set. The teams were tied at eight after 16 points before the Purple Eagles went on a 12-7 run to take a 20-15 advantage. The Purple Eagles closed out the set by taking five of the next nine points of the set. Niagara took a 2-1 lead after a 25-19 win in the third set.
Wronska led all players in the third set with six kills as she hit .462 in the set. As a team Niagara hit .333 in the third set. Bapst hit .500 with four kills while Seminoff had three kills. Ka'ahanui had eight assists in the set while both Wronska and Bapst had seven receptions. Eight different Purple Eagles combined for 19 digs in the set.
Fourth Set
Looking to extend the match, the Mastodons took a 12-8 lead after 20 points to open the fourth set. Niagara went on a 4-0 run and tied the match at 12 but that was as close as the Purple Eagles would get to taking the set as Purdue Fort Wayne held the lead the rest of the set and took the set 25-22.
Four Purple Eagles had two kills in the set as Lee, Seminoff, Bapst, and Imbuzeiro all had a pair. Wronska and Bruno each had one in the set. Niagara had three blocks in the set as Imbuzeiro and Seminoff each had a pair of block assists.
Fifth Set
In the deciding set, the Mastodons took a 3-0 lead to start but the Purple Eagles made it a one point set as they trailed 5-4. At the media timeout, the Purple Eagles trailed 8-5 as they looked to pick up their first win of the season. Purdue Fort Wayne came out of the timeout and took seven of the next 10 points and took the 15-11 win in the fifth set to win the match.
Seminoff had three kills in the final set while Casey Brown had a team high four assists in the frame.
Niagara Notes
· It is the first time this season that Niagara has gone to five sets.
· Wronska finished the match with a team high 13 kills along with a team high 14 digs for her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career.
· Bapst also finished with a double-double as she had 12 kills and 10 digs. She had had 35 receptions which was second to just Wronska who had 37. Bapst has now had a double-double in back to back matches after having 10 kills and 11 digs against William and & Mary on Sept. 2. It is the first time in her career that notched back to back double doubles.
· Niagara had a season high 11 blocks on the night with Imbuzeiro having three solo blocks and six block assists to lead the way.
· The Purple Eagles also set a new season high with 67 points in the match. Wronska, Imbuzeiro, Bapst, and Seminoff each had double digit points.
Up Next
Niagara closes out non-conference play on Saturday as they host Kent State at the Gallagher Center at 1 PM.
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