CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Canisius (14-11, 12-4 MAAC) at Quinnipiac (7-19, 6-10 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Burt Kahn Court – Hamden, N.J.
Live Video: Quinnipiac All-Access
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Canisius at Fairfield (11-14, 10-6 MAAC)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall – Fairfield, N.J.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Twitter: @GriffVolleyball l #Griffs |#MAACVB
Coming off its home finale, the Canisius volleyball program prepares to travel to MAAC foes Quinnipiac and Fairfield for a pair of league contests in Connecticut Saturday and Sunday.
Last Time Out
• The Golden Griffins finished their home slate and the 2018 Battle of the Bridge series with a win over long-time rival Niagara in straight sets.
• The Griffs capped off Senior Day in style as junior Leah Simmons led the team with 14 kills while senior liberoSofia Lopez Acosta tallied 20 digs and three service aces.
Scouting Canisius
• Simmons has been leading the Blue and Gold offensively all season with 280 kills. Behind Simmons is freshmanCamila Vazquez at 220 kills and senior Sara Wesley with 211 kills. Vazquez and Wesley both have more than 50 total blocks as well, with 75 and 59, respectively.
• Vazquez is not the only impact freshman, as Melina Woods continues to have a stellar season with 205 kills and 30 service aces.
• Junior Cassidy Ceriani has 846 assists as the team’s starting setter. Ceriani also has 103 kills on the season, becoming the first Canisius setter to reach the 100-kill plateau since Janelle Davis in 2011. Saturday’s match versus Niagara also saw Ceriani eclipse 2,500 career assists, just the fifth Griff to do so in program history.
• Lopez Acosta has tallied 477 digs, two shy of Kelly Sieber’s 479 in 2002 that ranks 10th-best in program history for a season. The libero leads the team in digs, and her 33 service aces also pace the Blue and Gold.
Griffs Among Conference Leaders
• Canisius finds itself atop the MAAC leaders in hitting percentage (.248).
• The Griffs are also tied for the top spot in the conference with 1.67 service aces per set, ranking 16th nationally in that category.
• The Blue and Gold are second in kills per set (13.44), assists per set (12.19), digs per set (16.06) and opponent blocks per set (1.48).
• Lopez Acosta paces the MAAC with 5.36 digs per set, ranking 22nd among Division I leaders, while the libero’s 0.37 service aces per set is fifth-best in the conference.
• Vazquez’s .352 hitting percentage is first among all qualified players and her 0.84 blocks per set is eighth in the conference.
• Wesley’s .289 hitting clip places the senior fifth in the conference.
• Ceriani is sixth in the MAAC with 9.51 assists per set while Simmons ranks fifth with 3.15 kills per set.
Scouting the Bobcats
• Quinnipiac is coming off a weekend which saw them lose in four sets to Marist but rebound with a 3-1 victory over Siena.
• Saturday’s contest with the Griffs will be the sixth of seven straight home matches for the Bobcats to close out the regular season.
• The offense has been led by Morgan Sherwin’s 301 kills, followed closely by Kat Miller’s 300 kills.
• Miller’s 0.45 aces per set is third in the MAAC and 25th nationally.
• Quinnipiac’s main setter is Maria Pansari with 952 assists, having a 9.71 assists per set that ranks third in the conference.
• On the defensive side, Alejandra Rodriguez leads the Bobcats with 310 digs, while Miller’s 78 total blocks leads the team.
• The Bobats rank first in the MAAC in opponent digs per set (13.56) and second in opponent service aces per set (1.32).
Canisius-Quinnipiac Series Notes
• Saturday’s match will mark the 16th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 2003 and heated up in 2013 when the Bobcats joined the MAAC.
• The Griffs hold a 12-3 lead in the all-time series, with Canisius enjoying a 9-3 record in the 12 in-conference contests since 2013.
• Canisius swept the first matchup of the season at home Oct. 7 off the power of 17 kills from Simmons.
Scouting the Stags
• Last time out, Fairfield took down Siena, 3-1, in a Nov. 3 match before losing to Marist the following day in four sets.
• The Stags have been powered by Mayda Garcia’s 254 kills, who ranks third in the MAAC at 3.34 kills per set.
• A .307 hitting percentage from Luci Albertson paces the squad, placing her third in the conference.
• Alexis Rich has 930 assists, averaging 10.45 per set (second in MAAC).
• Defensively, Taylor Rudeen has a team-best 403 digs while Albertson leads with 70 total blocks.
• As a team, Fairfield ranks second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.165) and opponent kills per set (11.46).
Canisius-Fairfield Series Notes
• Sunday’s match will serve as the 45th matchup between the two long-time MAAC foes in a series that began in 1989.
• The Stags hold an 31-13 edge in the all-time series.
• In the previous meeting this season, the Griffs earned the 3-0 victory Oct. 6, snapping the Stags’ 58-match MAAC winning streak.
Up Next
Canisius will head down to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to take part in the 2018 MAAC Volleyball Championship, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
First round action is set for Nov. 15, while the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds are on Nov. 16. The championship match is set for 3 p.m. on Nov. 17. The quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches can be seen live on ESPN3.
