NIAGARA UNIV. — The Purple Eagles fell in a five-set thriller to MAAC-leading and conference unbeaten Fairfield on Sunday to close out their home schedule.
The Purple Eagles and Stags kept the first set even up until a score of 7-6, where NU would take the lead and never hand it back. Multiple kills throughout the set by Nicole Matheis, Caroline Leitch, and Madison May would give Niagara the first 25-20. In a second set that saw 15 tied scores and seven lead changes, Niagara and Fairfield would battle it out until a victor would rise. An attack error and ball handling error on NU would give the Stags the set 26-24, evening up the sets. The third set featured nine tied scores, with another critical ending. With a tied score of 26-26 after a kill by May, Fairfield would deliver a kill of their own, followed by an attack error on Niagara. The stags would take the third 28-26. Niagara held control the entire fourth set, never decreasing the lead by more than two. A couple of kills by Madison May late in the set would help increase the lead for NU from 21-16 to 25-18, resulting in a set win for the Purple Eagles. Fairfield reacted early in the fifth set, taking the lead to 7-3 before a timeout by Niagara. Although the Purple Eagles would fight back into the set, Fairfield would never relinquish the lead, ultimately winning the set 15-7 and the match 3-2.
NU Head Coach Vilis Ozols said, “I was really proud of the way our team played against the top team in the conference. We battled them eye-to-eye, but for different plays or bounces we know that it could have gone either way. I thought our defense was outstanding and our offense worked really well. It was a good outing even with the loss.”
Niagara wraps up the regular season with matches at Manhattan on Saturday and Iona on Nov. 13.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
All WNY is made possible thanks to coffee and sleep deprivation.
We appreciate your readership. We like money, too.