Niagara University, N.Y. — Niagara volleyball fell to Sacred Heart in four sets 25-22, 17-25, 19-25, 20-25 in Metro Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Gallagher Center.
The Purple Eagles fell to 1-9, 0-2 Metro, while the Pioneers improved to 9-5, 2-0 Metro.
Set 1: Niagara 25, Sacred Heart 22
The opener was tight from the start, with 14 ties and five lead changes. Sacred Heart's Abbie Hagedorn opened the scoring with a kill off an assist from Miliani Villarreal, and the two sides traded points deep into the set. Karlotta Kattai and Payton Lee each had big swings for Niagara in the midpoint stretch, and the set was tied at 20 after a Kattai attack error was answered by a Goolsby kill.
Niagara closed on a decisive run down the stretch. Kattai converted back-to-back kills off sets from Noel Perkins to put the Purple Eagles up 23-22, and after Sacred Heart pulled within a point on a Niagara attack error, Kadee Goolsby delivered the set-clinching kill off a Perkins assist to make it 25-22.
Set 2: Sacred Heart 25, Niagara 17
Niagara built an early cushion, going up 3-1 on back-to-back kills from Lee and a Katelynn Rottman ace, but Sacred Heart came back to tie it at 4 on a Lauren Hubert kill and never trailed again. The Pioneers' offense, led by Hubert and Hagedorn, pulled away in the middle of the set, stretching a 14-10 edge into a 19-11 lead with a string of Hubert and Hagedorn kills, several set up by Addy Franz. Two kills from Jakayla Brown kept Niagara in the set, but the Pioneers pulled away down the stretch to tie things up at one.
Set 3: Sacred Heart 25, Niagara 19
Sacred Heart jumped ahead early, building an 8-2 cushion behind kills and a service ace from Hagedorn along with a pair of Ryleigh Short putaways. Niagara chipped away, getting kills from Taylor Jenkins, Karlotta Kattai and Katelynn Rottman to trim the deficit, and twice pulled within four points in the middle of the set.
The Purple Eagles put together their best stretch of the set behind Paisley Ka'ahanui's serve, scoring four straight points, two kills from Rottman and a pair of Sacred Heart attack errors, to cut the gap to 21-17. But Sacred Heart answered with kills from Hagedorn and Hubert to close it out 25-19.
Set 4: Sacred Heart 25, Niagara 20
The finale was the closest of the three sets Sacred Heart won. Niagara stayed within striking distance for most of the set, with kills from Kattai, Lee and Rottman keeping the deficit manageable, and trailed just 19-16 in the middle stages behind a Kayla Jones-Hubert exchange for Sacred Heart. Kattai and Goolsby had late kills to pull Niagara within 23-20, but Franz's ace on set point sealed it for Sacred Heart, 25-20.
Game Notes
Niagara is now 1-4 all-time against Sacred Heart
Lee and Kattai both led the Purple and White with 10 kills a piece
Perkins recorded a season-high 19 assists
Taylor Jenkins tied a career-high with five blocks
Ashley Moreland tallied a career-high 15 digs
Up Next
Niagara stays at home to take on Battle of the Bridge rival Canisius Tuesday September 29 at 6:00 pm inside the Gallagher Center.
