Volleyball road trip ends as final weekend looms large

By Paige Apps, Sports Reporter

The Canisius volleyball team closed its last road stretch of the season with two more difficult losses in Connecticut, falling 3–1 to Sacred Heart on Friday before getting swept by No. 1-ranked Fairfield on Saturday. The two defeats extended the Griffs’ losing streak to five matches, dropping them to 8–8 in league play, setting up a high-stakes final weekend at home.

Canisius opened Friday’s matchup with promise, taking the first set 25–18 behind efficient hitting from redshirt sophomore Julia Lenik and freshman Madi Cowan. Sacred Heart, however, responded with three-straight set wins to hand the Griffs their fourth-consecutive loss.

Lenik recorded a team-high 13 kills, while senior Bella Mosquera added 10 kills and five block assists. Sophomore Emma Isroff chipped in nine kills, 10 digs and five blocks, with senior Ella Bourque distributing 38 assists. Junior libero Brenda Reynaga anchored the defense with a match-best 21 digs.

On Saturday, the Griffs faced a dominating Fairfield team that has been at the top of the MAAC all season – and they continued to prove why in Saturday’s match. Canisius was swept 3–0 as Fairfield won its sixth-straight match.

Lenik once again paced Canisius with nine kills, while Bourque tallied 30 assists, a performance that pushed her into third all-time in career assists at Canisius with 3,726. Reynaga recorded 15 digs to lead all players.

Fairfield held Canisius to a negative hitting percentage (-.121) in the opening set and erased a 16–11 Griff advantage in the second set with a six-point run. The Griffs fought to the end in the third, cutting a 24–19 deficit to 24–22 before ultimately falling on an attack error.

With two matches left – Merrimack (7–9) on Friday and Quinnipiac (14–2) on Saturday – Canisius enters the final weekend tied for fifth place at 8–8 in the MAAC. Four teams (Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Marist and Siena) remain tightly clustered around the Griffs, making the postseason picture unpredictable.

The Griffs will clinch their postseason spot if they win at least one of their two final matches, a victory over Merrimack being the most likely. If Canisius loses both matches, there’s potential to fall into multi-team ties with Merrimack, Sacred Heart and Marist where tiebreakers would decide the final postseason berth.

The potential to host a first-round match is a longshot and highly unlikely at this point in the season for the Griffs. With the standings more crowded than ever and only two matches left, the final weekend at the Koessler Athletic Center will determine whether the Griffs stabilize heading into the MAAC Championship, or face an early end to their season.

The Blue and Gold return to home court to face the Warriors on Friday and the Bobcats on Saturday for their Senior Day celebrations.

Photo courtesy of Madi Burton