Niagara University N.Y. — Niagara volleyball took one set but fell to Marist 16-25, 26-24, 12-25, 19-25 in a Metro Conference match Friday night at the Gallagher Center.
The Purple Eagles fell to 2-21, 1-14 Metro, while the Red Foxes improved to 16-12, 11-4 Metro.
Set 1: Marist 25, Niagara 16
Marist took control early. Kaitlyn Owens went to the service line with the Red Foxes up 2-1 and stayed there for five straight points, a stretch that included a pair of kills from Mallory Reck and back-to-back Niagara attack errors by Kattai. Marist led 7-1 before the Purple Eagles scored.
Niagara answered with a 4-0 run to get within 12-9. Paisley Ka'ahanui's serve fueled the surge: Payton Lee and Taylor Jenkins combined on a block, Katelynn Rottman added a kill, and Ka'ahanui served an ace. Marist reeled off the next five points, though, and led 17-9 after Bumstead's second kill in the run.
The teams traded points back and forth to end the set as Karlotta Katti tallied three kills, but the Red Foxes scored the final two points to take set one 25-16.
Set 2: Niagara 26, Marist 24
The Purple Eagles kept pace in the longest set of the night, which featured 10 ties and six lead changes. Niagara opened a 6-2 lead behind two blocks by Lee, one with Sole Rancy, and Jenkins' service run. Marist fought back to take a 9-8 lead on Cecilia Potter-Pessoa's two aces.
Niagara reclaimed control with a 4-0 spurt for a 15-11 lead. Jenkins started it with a kill, and Ka'ahanui's serve did the rest with a Lee block, a Rottman kill and an ace. The lead reached 17-13 before Marist answered with a 7-0 run to go ahead 20-17.
The Purple Eagles refused to fold. They outscored Marist 5-1 to take a 22-21 lead, helped by a Noel Perkins ace, Rancy's kill and an ace from Kattai. The teams traded points until Rottman's attack error gave Marist a set point at 24-23.
Goolsby, set by Perkins, tied it at 24. Dasic then hit long, and Jenkins finished it with her fourth kill of the set for a 26-24 win.
Set 3: Marist 25, Niagara 12
Niagara led 1-0 on a Lee kill and the set stayed close early at 3-3. Marist then pulled away, building an 11-6 lead. Niagara trimmed it to 11-8 when Marist was called for a bad set, but the Red Foxes responded.
Marist trailed 14-10 only in the sense of the margin it was about to extend. Dasic went to the line and served eight straight points, with two aces, kills by Molly Malone, Chambers and Trinity Woods, and a Goolsby block error. That run turned a 14-10 lead into 22-10. Kattai finished with three kills and Lee two in the set. Ka'ahanui's kill off a Bumstead set ended it, and Bumstead supplied the final kill.
Set 4: Marist 25, Niagara 19
Rottman's pair of service aces gave Niagara a 3-1 lead early in the fourth, but Caelyn Dumas answered with three straight aces to put Marist up 5-3. The set went back and forth to 6-6 before Marist pulled ahead 9-6 on two Bumstead kills.
Niagara cut it to 12-10 behind Kattai and a Moreland ace. Marist then scored five in a row, with Owens at the line for four of them and Bumstead adding another kill, for a 17-10 advantage.
The Purple Eagles weren't done. A 5-0 run with Rottman serving made it 17-15. Kaitlyn Doyle's kill started it, Lee and Jenkins combined on a block, Kattai added a kill, and Marist errors finished the job. Marist steadied with a 3-0 run to lead 20-15, and Kattai's kills made it 20-17. But Dasic's ace and two Niagara-forced errors pushed the lead to 24-17. Perkins served an ace to make it 24-19, and a Purple Eagles error ended the match.
Niagara Notes
Niagara is now 31-25 all-time against Marist
Kattai tied her career-high kills with 20
Ka'ahanui tallied 20+ assists for the fifth game this season and second straight game
Lee led the Purple and White with five blocks
Up Next
Niagara closes out the home portion of their regular season against Siena Saturday October 7 at 2:00 pm.
