LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – The Iona College volleyball team dropped a hard fought five set decision to top seeded Marist in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 MAAC Championship at HP Pavilion in ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. Senior OH Catrina Warren led the Gaels with 19 kills and a career-high 30 digs in the loss.
Warren finished with 22.0 points, posting four blocks and an ace to go along with her 19 kills. Rookie OH Kassandra Darnaby had 17 kills and 12 digs with two blocks. Senior setter Caris Myles was the third Gael performer with a double-double with 45 assists and 11 digs while adding four blocks. Up the middle, senior Shannon Ward posted seven kills and six blocks and sophomore Karly White had five kills and four blocks. Senior RS Taylor Cembalisty added 18 digs while senior libero Katie Marabella recorded 19 digs in the loss.
The Red Foxes were led by 19 kills from Kelsey Lahey. Courtney Shaw had 18 kills while Mackenzie Stephens posted 13. Setter Amanda Schlegel had 61 assists and 10 digs. Libero Brooke Zywick had a team-high 25 digs.
The Gaels trailed 24-18 in the final set and rallied for eight straight points on Darnaby’s serve to pull out a 26-24 set win. Marist took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22 before Iona knotted the match and forced a fifth set by recording three of the last four points in the 25-23 win. The Red Foxes scored the first five points of the deciding set and never trailed in the 15-7 win.
Now in the consolation bracket, the Gaels take on No. 10 Quinnipiac at 11:00 am Friday. The winner faces No. 6 Niagara at 2:00 pm. A loss would end the team’s season.
