WHITE PLAINS, NY –The Iona College volleyball team split in its final day at the 2015 Bryant Hampton Inn-vitational at the Chace Athletic Center. The Gaels opened the day with a three-set sweep of Quinnipiac before falling to host Bryant in four in the night cap.
Freshman OH Claire Archibald and sophomore Karly White led the Maroon & Gold in the opener vs. the Bobcats combining for 20 kills. Archibald hit .318 with 11 kills and seven digs. White hit a team-best .467, posting nine kills, three digs and a block. Sophomore OH Kassandra Darnaby came off the bench with eight kills. Rookie MB Mia Bonsignore hit .385 with six kills and two blocks.
Freshman Emma Rose and senior Natalie Ziskin split time at setter with Rose leading 21 assists. Ziskin posted 12 helpers with two kills on three attempts.
Defensively, rookie libero Jessica Paolucci had 18 digs and three aces. Freshman Kait Ferretti added seven digs while Amanda Gannon had six digs and three aces in the win.
THe Gaels took the match 25-18, 25-23, and 25-21 over their MAAC rival in a non-conference tilt.
Quinnipiac’s Allison Leigh had 12 kills while Kat Miller had 13 digs and Sierra Dawson posted 15 assists.
In the night cap, Iona took the first set from the Bulldogs 25-20 but dropped the final three 25-16, 25-19 and 25-16.
Gannon broke out for a team best 14 kills, recording three aces and eight digs. Archibald posted the team’s first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. White hit .333 and had 11 kills in the loss. Rose recorded 25 assists and Ziskin added 15. Paolucci and Ferretti had 19 and 10 digs respectively.
Bryant’s duo of Sophie Hoekstra and Margo Ruffieux had 11 kills each. Libero Debora Magalhes added 20 digs.
Iona is back in action Tuesday in a mid-week tilt at local rival St. John’s.
