JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Karlotta Kattai had 14 kills, and Niagara rallied from five points down in the third set to lead three times with a chance to win it, but ultimately fell in three sets to Saint Peter's 14-25 19-25, 33-35 on Friday at Yanitelli Center.
The Purple Eagles fell to 1-11, 0-4 Metro, while the Peacocks improved to 3-12, 3-1 Metro.
First set 14-25
Saint Peter's scored the first six points, and the Purple Eagles' first point came on a Saint Peter's service error. Kattai answered with back-to-back kills to make it 6-3, and her ace pulled Niagara within 10-7.
Jakayla Brown and Kadence Goolsby combined to block Pruvost twice in the second half of the set. The Peacocks went on to take the first set 15-14.
Second set 19-25
The Purple Eagles led 2-0 on a Brown kill and an attack error blocked by Lee and Brown to start the second set. They regained the lead at 8-7 when Paisley Ka'ahanui served an ace.
Saint Peter's tied it at 8-8, then scored six straight points with Fargas serving. Niagara answered with a 3-0 spurt, with two Kattai kills as part of it, to get within 14-11. The Purple Eagles got within 19-17 after Natasa Ljubicic and Brown each had a kill. Saint Peter's closed on a 6-2 run, to go up two sets.
Third set 33-35
The longest set was a back-and-forth affair that was tied 13 times. Niagara led 8-6 behind kills from Goolsby and Lee and a block by Brown and Goolsby. Saint Peter's tied it on a Fargas ace and went ahead 10-8 after two Niagara errors. The Peacocks stretched the lead to seven points twice, at 20-13 and 21-14.
Doyle had back-to-back kills to start the comeback, and Lee and Brown followed with a block that made it 21-17. Saint Peter's reached match point at 24-19, but Kattai got a sideout kill and Noel Perkins went to the service line. A Kattai kill, a Goolsby kill, two Saint Peter's errors and a Perkins ace gave Niagara six straight points and a 25-24 lead.
The Peacocks tied it at 25, and the teams traded points through nine more ties. Niagara held the lead at 29-28 and 31-30. Brown tied it with kills at 28-28 and 30-30, Lee tied it at 32-32 and Kattai at 33-33. Ljubicic's solo block at 27-27 was one of five Niagara blocks in the set. Pagan Munoz, who had seven kills in the set, then put away a kill that made it 34-33 and followed with her ace to take the game
Niagara Notes
Niagara is now 39-21 all-time against Saint Peter's
Kattai led the Purple and White with a season-high 14 kills
Ka'ahanui led the offense with 19 assists
Ashley Moreland tied a career-high in digs with 15
Up Next
Niagara wraps up the weekend against Rider Saturday October 3 at 2 pm.
