Niagara University, N.Y. — Karlotta Kattai had 19 kills, 13 digs and an ace to lead Niagara to a 25-20, 25-16, 11-25, 25-21 victory over Merrimack on Friday at Gallagher Center.

The Purple Eagles improved to 2-14, 1-7 Metro Conference, while the Warriors fell to 2-19, 2-6 Metro Conference

Set 1: Niagara 25, Merrimack 20

Lee's block of a Mckenna Shotwell swing gave Niagara the first point. Taylor Jenkins then aced libero Ella Maldonado for a 2-0 lead. Kills by Kattai, Goolsby and Rottman, plus a Warriors attack error, made it 7-2.

Merrimack answered with five straight points to tie it at 7-7. Afolalu had back-to-back kills, a Jakayla Brown attack error gave Merrimack another point, and Maiella Blandin tied it with a kill. Rottman put Niagara back ahead 8-7, but Afolalu tied it again at 8-8.

Niagara pulled ahead after a Sienna Franks service error made it 9-8. Jenkins blocked Shotwell twice, at 10-8 and 12-9, and Lee's kill made it 13-10. Merrimack stayed close, tying it at 16-16 on a Purple Eagles attack error.

Niagara took the lead for good with a five-point run. Goolsby's kill made it 17-16, and Rottman's kill made it 18-16. Merrimack called timeout, but Ka'ahanui served an ace and Lee added a kill to make it 20-16. Rottman's kill made it 21-16 and prompted another Merrimack timeout. 

Merrimack scored twice more, but Lee and Kattai kills made it 23-18, and Rottman served an ace at 24-18. Kattai ended the set with a kill off a Perkins set.

Set 2: Niagara 25, Merrimack 16

Ka'ahanui opened with an ace, and Lee's kills on the next two points made it 3-0. Kattai's kills made it 5-1 and 6-2. Perkins and Goolsby came in at 7-3.

Merrimack closed within 9-8 with three straight points. Rottman's kill off a Perkins set stopped it, and Niagara led 15-12 at the media timeout after back-to-back Kattai kills.

Two Afolalu attack errors made it 17-12 and led to a Merrimack timeout. After Kattai's ace made it 19-13, Merrimack called another timeout, and a service error cut it to 19-14. 

Niagara then closed with four straight points: Goolsby kills at 20-14 and 21-14, a Jenkins kill at 22-14 and a Rottman kill at 23-14. Fabiola Betancourt got one back for Merrimack, a DeBonis service error made it 24-15. Jenkins ended the set with a kill off a Ka'ahanui set.

Set 3: Merrimack 25, Niagara 11

A Niagara attack error gave Merrimack the first point, and Kattai tied it at 1-1. Merrimack took control when Betancourt served five straight points, from 3-1 to 7-1, forcing the Purple Eagles to call a timeout.

Ka'ahanui got a kill coming out of it, but Afolalu had kills at 11-3 and 12-3, and Naomi Vajda Goolsby's kill got Niagara to 14-5, but Merrimack's lead reached 14 points at 25-11.

Set 4: Niagara 25, Merrimack 21

Kattai and Hammerstrand traded blocks over the opening several points, and the set was tied at 1-1, 3-3 and 4-4. Merrimack led 4-3 before a Kenney service error tied it again.

Niagara took its first lead of the set at 5-4 on a Kattai kill that came with a block error on Blandin. Kattai added a kill off a Perkins set to make it 6-4, and Brown's block of a Blandin swing made it 8-5. Goolsby's kill made it 9-6.

Niagara led 12-7 after two Warriors attack errors around a Lee kill. Rottman's kill and a block by Hammerstrand and Izzo on a Kattai swing made it 14-9.

Merrimack responded with three straight points out of the media timeout, to make it 17-12 then Kattai's kill made it 18-12. Kattai's kill made it 20-13, and Merrimack called another timeout. Betancourt and Izzo kills made it 20-15, but Rottman kills at 21-15 and 23-15 kept Niagara ahead. Lee's kill made it 24-16.

Merrimack scored five straight points to get within 24-21 and forced a Niagara timeout at 24-19. Lee ended it with a kill off a Moreland set.

Niagara Notes

Niagara is now 4-1 all-time against Merrimack

Kattai tied a career-high in kills with 19 leading the Purple and White

Perkins led the Niagara offense with 21 assists

Rottman tallied double-digit kills for the third straight game

Up Next

Niagara wraps up the home weekend Saturday October 17 against Quinnipiac at 2:00 pm inside the Gallagher Center.