NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College volleyball team (1-0) opened up its 2017 season with a dramatic five set win over NJIT (0-1). The Gaels took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-22 before dropping the third and fourth, both by 19-25 decisions. The Maroon & Gold used a 5-1 stretch midway through the final set to corral its first victory of the season.
Junior Emma Rose recorded 44 assists, her highest total since Aug. 28, 2015 against Holy Cross when she had 46 as a freshman. She converted 88% of the Maroon & Gold total assists while chipping in six digs. Junior Claire Archibald and sophomore Tess Connolly each had a match-high 14 kills.
Junior Mia Bonsignore finished with a team-high five blocks. Rose chipped in with three and Connolly tallied two rejections.
Freshman Taylor Cole began her collegiate career by recording a match-high 19 digs. Archibald quietly had 13, resulting in double-double performance.
Iona made 22 errors in the match, 16 of which came in the losing third and fourth sets. NJIT had a .000 attack percentage in the fifth set while Iona bookended their win at a .273 clip.
Iona continues the 2017 Bucknell invitational with a pair of games against La Salle and Bucknell.
