By: Maggie Tifft, Assistant Sports Editor
It’s October, which means conference play is in full swing. The Canisius volleyball team began on a hot 2–0 streak, but suffered their first loss to the Purple Eagles in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play.
This past weekend, the Koessler Athletic Center hosted Siena College on Saturday, Sept. 26, and Marist College on Sunday, September 27, where the Griffs defeated the Saints in five sets and the Red Foxes in four.
Both of these matches were “come from behind” wins for the Griffs, showing their grit and determination to win tough games. When speaking with junior captain Ella Bourque, she mentioned how the work everyone puts into practice translates into the success they’ve seen in long games this season.
“With the talent in the conference we know we’re gonna see long rallies and four- and five-set matches, so I think in practice we’re able to shape the mentality that some games will be more of a grind than others,” continued Bourque.
After the long opening weekend of MAAC play, the Griffs stood atop the leaderboard with an overall record of 5–9. It would be Wednesday’s dramatic match against Niagara that would hand Canisius their first conference loss of the season.
Up in Lewiston, the Griffs won the first set by what would be the biggest point differential of the night: 25–18. After that, it was a nail-biter that ultimately led to a Griff loss. After the defeat, the team and head coach Tom Hanna recapped, but knew they had to look ahead to this weekend's matchups.
“I’m confident in our ability to execute the scout in a short turn around. Our bandwidth of consistency right now is a little up and down, but once we can flatten it out we’re going to see more positive results,” says coach Hanna in regards to the turnaround from Wednesday to this weekend.
This week caps off with two road games for the Griffs: Saturday at Rider and Sunday at Saint Peter’s, both at 1 p.m. Check out the Griffs Instagram @griffvolleyball or gogriffs.com for any updates from this weekend.
Photo Courtesy Tom Wolf
Comments