POUGHKEEPSIE — The Niagara University Purple Eagles battled the Marist Red Foxes in five contested sets before falling on Sunday.
Niagara won the first and third sets, while Marist took the second and fourth sets. The Purple Eagles pulled away earlier in the first set. With the score tied at 8-8, a block by Alex Stone and Nicole Matheis sparked a 14-5 run on their way to winning the set, 25-17. After Marist tied the match at 1-1, NU regained the lead by taking the third set. The set score was tied at 20-20 when the Purple Eagles scored the final five points of the set. The Red Foxes maintained their early lead in the fourth set to tie the match at 2-2. In the deciding set, Niagara trailed 7-3 but stormed back to take a 13-12 lead. However, the Red Foxes scored three straight points to win the match.
Nicole Matheis led the match with a season-high 23 kills, two shy of tying a career-high which she set against Iona on Oct. 25, 2015 (a Purple Eagle season-high). She was also one of three Purple Eagles in double-digit digs with 10 for her fourth double-double of the season, and also had a team season-high 25.5 points. Alexis Gray had her team-leading sixth double-double with 22 assists and 15 digs. Her four aces in the match ties a personal and team-high this season. Rylee Hunt had a match-high 19 digs for her 11th consecutive match in double-digits. Meghan Higley had a season-high 14 assists. Niagara had 10 aces which are tied for second most this season.
The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center to host Rider on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Saint Peter’s on Sunday at 1 p.m.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
