Iona Battles No. 12 Pitt in First Round of NCAA Volleyball Championship
Iona College at No. 12 University of Pittsburgh
2018 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship
Friday, November 30 | 7 PM | Petersen Events Center | Pittsburgh, PA
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EDISON, NJ – Iona College (20-7) takes on No. 12 University of Pittsburgh (29-1) in the First Round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship on Friday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
The Gaels are making the program’s second appearance in the NCAA Championship; 2004 was the first. The winner of Iona and Pitt gets either Michigan or Navy in the second round.
Iona Notes: The Gaels won the MAAC Championship with a 3-1 win over No. 2 seed Canisius College on November 17 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Iona was the top seed in the MAAC Championship after winning the program’s first outright MAAC Regular Season Title in program history after going 16-2 in MAAC play. Seniors Claire Archibald and Emma Rose were named MAAC Player of the Year and Setter of the respectively. Head coach Patric Santiago picked up BSN Sports MAAC Coach of the Year honors. Iona has won its last four and has lost only twice since the month of September (14-2).
Pitt Notes: The Panthers will host the NCAA Championship for the first time this weekend. Pitt won its second consecutive ACC crown this season after going 17-1 in league play. The Panthers went undefeated at home during the regular at 18-0. Head coach Dan Fisher was named ACC Volleyball Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. The Panthers also had four players named to the All-ACC First Team.
MAAC in the NCAAs: The MAAC is 1-22 all-time in the NCAA Championship. The win came back in 1995 by Siena College. Friday will be the seventh time a MAAC team has played in Pennsylvania in the NCAA Championship. All prior six meetings came against Penn State.
MAAC Championship Recap: Iona topped Canisius 3-1 to win the MAAC Championship. The Gaels had three players in double-figure kills and digs. Claire Archibald became the all-time leader in kills at Iona with 1,549 after her third kill of the match. The senior passed Miki Hogg for the top spot. Emma Rose dished out 53 assists for her seventh game of 50-plus helpers this season. Iona beat Fairfield University in the semifinals of the championship.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.