QUEENS, N.Y. – Niagara volleyball dropped its opening match of the season 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-8) to St. John's in non-conference volleyball action from Carnesecca Arena.
 
How it Happened
Niagara and St. John's would split the first six points of the opening set before the Red Storm rattled off a 13-2 run to make the score 16-5. From there Niagara would take four of the next seven points to make it a 19-9 St. John's lead.
 
The Red Storm then went on a 4-0 run to go up by 14, 23-9, but the Purple and White wouldn't go away quietly, taking four of the next five points and, including kills from Laryssa Imbuzeiro and Peyton Lee, however, St. John's would take the next point to secure the set win.
 
The second set began with a 5-0 Red Strom surge before Niagara got on the board with Imbuzeiro's first of three kills in the set. That point helped Niagara draw within two as Victoria Latino recorded a kill, followed by two attack errors by St. John's that led to a timeout by the home team.
 
Following the timeout, the Red Storm would go on a 12-2 run to build a 18-6 advantage over the Purple Eagles. Niagara would record four more points in the set, including kills from Liana Tolliver, and Imbuzeiro, but St. John's would secure the set 25-10.
 
The third and final set was all St. John's as the Red Storm once again built a double-digit lead over the Purple Eagles, 15-5. Niagara would only collect three more points as St. John's cruised to the 25-8 win in the final set to win the match.
 
Niagara Notes
• St. John's improved to 2-0 over Niagara all-time.
• Imbuzeiro led the Purple Eagles with eight kills, while Bella Peroni led NU with 10 and Kylie Blessing finished with a team-best nine assists.
• Blessing's nine assists all came in the first set.
• Liana Tolliver finished with two kills, six digs, and a block.
• Niagara is 0-3 in season openers under Ren Cefra.
 
Up Next
Niagara will play a pair of matches on Saturday, Aug. 31 beginning with an 11 a.m. contest against Central Connecticut followed by a 4 p.m. opening serve against Northeastern.  

Stay connected with Niagara Volleyball on X, Instagram, and Facebook. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on X, Instagram, Facebook, purpleeagles.com and the Niagara Purple Eagles app.