By Stephen Lapage
After falling in two home games, Canisius volleyball went on the road to try and climb the MAAC standings with two wins. The matches came against the Siena Saints and the Marist Red Foxes, two teams the Griffs were able to claim a victory against.
The Golden Griffins started their road trip by traveling to Loudonville, New York to take on the Saints. The teams battled back and forth in the first set, but Canisius was able to pull away at the end, winning the first set 25–22. The Griffs carried their momentum into the next two sets, not allowing the Saints more than 14 points in either set. The Griffs won the sets 25–12 and 25–14, sweeping Siena in three sets.
Graduate student Ella Loussia led the team with 12 kills, while sophomore Bella Mosquera had nine. Junior Jillian Hanna led the team with 11 digs, and sophomore Ella Bourque added 35 assists. This is the 11th time Bourque tallied 30 or more assists in a game this season.
The Griffs hoped to carry the energy from the win as they traveled to Poughkeepsie, New York to face the Marist Red Foxes. The first set was back and forth, but the Griffs seemed to utilize their momentum to push past Marist as they took the first set 26–24. Marist rallied from the first set as they held Canisius to just 16 points, winning the set 25–16. With the match tied, Canisius found a way to win both sets, both by a score of 25–23. The Griffs won the match by a score of three sets to one.
The Griffs were led offensively by junior Kara Zaucha and freshman Lauren Hubert with 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Hanna had a team-high 11 digs, while Bourque tallied 46 assists. Hanna also had five service aces, the most in her career, and Bourque’s 46 assists push her to seven games with 40 or more assists. With Hubert’s performance over the weekend, she was voted as the MAAC rookie of the week for the fourth time this season.
The Griffs will head back to Buffalo as they host two MAAC games: Saturday against Rider and Sunday against Saint Peter’s. Both games are set to begin at noon.