CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Canisius senior Sofia Lopez Acosta and freshman Camila Vazquez were both recognized as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced its weekly award winners on Tuesday. Winners of three-straight, the Golden Griffins swept Niagara on the Purple Eagles’ home court for the first time since 2000 before staying undefeated at home with wins against Siena and Marist. The Blue and Gold sit at 10-3 in MAAC play and 12-10 overall, good for second-best in the conference standings.
Lopez Acosta, a native of Mexicali, Mexico, was named MAAC Libero of the Week while Vazquez, a Tampa, Fla., product, was tabbed the conference’s Rookie of the Week. Lopez Acosta totaled 44 digs over the weekend with five service aces. Vazquez recorded 37 kills and eight block assists in three contests for the Griffs.
This is Lopez Acosta’s fourth time being honored by the conference for her play and third time this season. In Canisius’ 3-0 win over rival Niagara on Thursday, Lopez Acosta helped the Blue and Gold with a team-high nine digs, three assists and one kill. She added a team-high 15 digs in the Saturday sweep of Siena, where she also recorded five service aces, one assist and one kill. The five service aces all came during the second set and are the most for a Canisius player in a three-set match since former Griff Sarah Podlesh set a school-record with nine aces in a sweep of St. Francis Brooklyn back on Sept. 23, 2005. The senior capped off the weekend by recording 20 digs and two assists in the win over Marist, the 11th time this season she has recorded 20-or-more digs.
For Vazquez, this is the second time in her freshman campaign that she was named MAAC Rookie of the Week. The middle hitter started her week by setting the program record for hitting percentage in a match, registering a .714 hitting clip and 10 kills off 14 attack attempts at Niagara. She also added an assist, one dig and a block assist in the Battle of the Bridge sweep. She followed that effort with nine kills in the three sets against the Saints, hitting .538 and also notching one block assist. Vazquez ended the weekend by setting a career-high with 18 kills in the five-set victory versus Marist, hitting at a .484 percentage and racking up six block assists.
Lopez Acosta currently leads the MAAC with 5.30 digs per set and ranks eighth with 0.34 service aces per set, while Vazquez paces the conference with a .355 hitting percentage and sits tied for sixth at 0.86 blocks per set.
Canisius continues its five-match homestand this weekend, hosting Manhattan on Oct. 27 and first-place Iona on Oct. 28. Both matches are set for 1 p.m.and are being broadcast on ESPN+.
