By: Colin Richey
The Griffins opened up strong against several conference opponents, finishing the week 3-1. The team is currently on a 3 game winning streak, and even swept the MAAC Weekly Awards.
The team’s first conference game was against Fairfield, where the Griffins lost 3-0. The Stags dominated the stat sheet, but several Griffins made notable impacts throughout the game. Senior Bree Long recorded 17 digs, while freshman Ella Bourque led the team with 29 assists. Sophomore Taylor Baldwin recorded 15 kills, which was a team high.
Canisius bounced back, winning each of their next three games. The Griffins defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 3-2. Baldwin once again led the team in kills, this time with 29 - nearly double what she had recorded in the previous game and her new career high. Long once again led the team in digs, this time with 17, passing Erin Oveis (1996-99) as she moved into third in career digs in program history. Bourque recorded a team high 55 assists in the victory. Canisius now leads the all-time series 17-8 between the two MAAC schools. This was head coach Tom Hanna’s first win at the Koessler Athletic Center as head coach of Canisius volleyball.
The Griffins then faced a doubleheader against The Niagara Purple Eagles, coming out on top in both matches. In the first game, Canisius won 3-1, earning their second straight conference victory. Senior Ella Loussia recorded 20 kills, while Bourque once again led the team in assists, this time with 45. Long continued her climb up the all-time digs leaderboard, recording another 20 in the match. Graduate student Stella Johnson notched her 1,000th career dig, accumulating 930 during her years at Maryland Eastern Shore, and earning another 73 now at Canisius.
In part two of “The Battle of the Bridge”, Canisius shut out Niagara, winning in only three sets. After scoring 23 points in set 1, the Purple Eagles managed just 24 points in the remaining 2 sets combined. Loussia led the team with 13 kills, Bourque led with 31 assists, while Long recorded a team-high 23 digs. This was the first time since the 2018 season that the Griffins swept the Purple Eagles in the regular season.
After a successful week against MAAC opponents, the Griffins were heavily featured in the conference’s weekly awards. Loussia won MAAC Player of the Week, Long won Libero of the Week, while Bourque claimed Rookie of the Week. This is the first time in his career Coach Hanna has ever had three of his players all simultaneously win weekly awards.
The Griffins’ next match is on October 1st, where they take on Iona in New Rochelle at 1:00 PM.
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