Jersey City, N.J.—The Niagara volleyball team returned to its winning ways on Sunday afternoon as they swept Saint Peter’s in straight sets for their fifth win in the last six matches.
First Set
The two teams traded points in the opening set and the teams were tied at 11 through 22 points. Following the tie, Niagara took a 19-15 lead which was followed by a Saint Peter’s timeout. Out of the timeout, the Peacocks clawed back to make it 21-20 in favor of Niagara, that was the closest they would get to taking the set as Niagara won the set 25-22.
Niagara had 11 kills in the opening set with Janiah Robinson and Lexi Bapst leading the way with three kills. Cassie Seminoff had two kills while Jenna Vogen and Laryssa Imbuzeiro both had a kill. Kylie Blessing had a team high five assists while Casey Brown had four. Bella Peroni and Bapst each registered an assist in the set. Peroni had a team high seven digs while also having nine receptions. The Purple Eagles had two blocks in the set with Lee and Imbuzeiro combining for a block on two separate occasions.
Second Set
The second set was controlled by the Purple Eagles as they never trailed, the score was tied just once at two. Niagara jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the second set and never looked back as their lead grew to 10 at the end of the set. The Purple Eagles took the second set 25-15 to head to the third set with a 2-0 lead.
Five Purple Eagles combined for 15 kills in the middle set. Lee had a set high five kills while Robinson and Vogen each had three kills. Bapst and Seminoff both added two kills as Niagara hit .282 in the second set. Both Blessing and Brown had six assists in the second set. Once again, Niagara had two blocks in the set with Lee, Bapst, Imbuzeiro, and Robinson all having block assists. Bapst had seven receptions in the set to lead the team while Peroni and Seminoff had three.
Third Set
Like the first set, the third set was full of both teams trading points. There were three lead changes and the set was tied 10 different times. After 30 points, the teams were tied at 15. Following the tie, Niagara took four of the next five points to take a 19-16 lead that led to a Saint Peter’s timeout. Out of the timeout Niagara allowed just two more points and completed the sweep by a score of 25-18.
Eight Purple Eagles had a kill in the third set, Imbuzeiro and Seminoff both had a team high three kills. Lee had two kills in the set while Bapst, Vogen, Robinson, Blessing, and Taylor Jenkins all had one kill. Blessing had a team high six assists with Brown right behind her at five. Niagara had three aces in the set, Seminoff, Brown, and Peroni all had one. The Purple Eagles forced three blocks with Seminoff and Imbuzeiro each having one solo block while Lee and Robinson teamed up for one.
Niagara Notes
· Niagara hit .259 in the match with 39 kills. It is the second highest hitting percentage of the season for Niagara and the third match in which they hit better than .250.
· Robinson, Lee, and Seminoff all had seven kills to lead the Purple Eagles. In total, eight Purple Eagles had kills with seven having multiple kills.
· Niagara had seven blocks in the match, they are second in the MAAC in blocks per set at 2.29. They have 130 total blocks which is also second in the MAAC. Imbuzeiro leads the MAAC with 1.29 blocks per set and also leads with 71 total blocks.
· Peroni sits in second in digs per set at 3.96, she had 218 total digs this season which is third in the MAAC.
· Niagara is 5-3 in MAAC play this season and sits in fourth place in the conference.
· The Purple Eagles are now 32-22 all-time against Saint Peter’s and have won 18 straight matches against the Peacocks dating back to 2014.
Up Next
Niagara returns home on Oct. 14 and 15 as they host Siena and Marist at the Gallagher Center. Both matches are slated for 1 PM.
Stay connected with Niagara Volleyball on X (formally Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, purpleeagles.com and the Niagara Purple Eagles app.
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