Canisius and Rider to Play for 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship

Canisius and Rider to Play for 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship

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Canisius College – 3 | Niagara University – 0
2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship – Semifinals
Albany Capital Center | Albany, NY

No. 2 Canisius College (9-3, 7-3 MAAC) defeated No. 3 Niagara University (5-4, 4-3 MAAC) in straight sets to advance to the 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship. Canisius College defeated Niagara for the second time this season, winning the season series 2-1. The Golden Griffins will face the Rider Broncs tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for the 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship.

Canisius Notes
  • Canisius knocked out the Purple Eagles in straight sets, winning 25-15, 25-23 and 25-21. It was the first sweep for Canisius in postseason history.
  • Rachel Kinney and Hannah Nelson both had a match-high 12 kills. Kinney also was tied for the match-high in digs (18) with Bree Long.
  • Ashley Kekeisen set a new career-high in assists with 29, surpassing her previous total of 27 on Nov. 3, 2019 at Saint Peter’s.
  • Canisius was able to hold Niagara to a .077 hitting rate.
  • After breaking a 10-10 tie, in the first set Canisius was able to win 15 of the final 20 points of the set to win the set 25-15.
  • Canisius was able to register four players with double-digit digs, Kinney (18), Long (18), Kekeisen (17), and Nelson (14).
  • Canisius improved to 8-0 this season when out-hitting their opponents.
  • The Golden Griffins will make their second appearance in the MAAC Volleyball Championship game, with their the first coming in 2018.
 Niagara Notes
  • Mary Redl led the team with 10 kills on the day.
  • Four Purple Eagles were able to tally double-digit digs in the game, Amanda Darling led the way with 15 followed by Jaycie Roberts (14), Jessica Streuer (14) and Cassie Seminoff (10).
  • Niagara’s Streuer registered a team-high 14 assists on the day and had one kill.
  • The Purple Eagles started strong scoring six straight points to jump out to a 7-3 lead in the first set, before ultimately dropping the set 25-15.
Rider University – 3 | Siena College – 1
2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship – Semifinals
Albany Capital Center | Albany, NY

No. 4 Rider University (6-4, 4-4 MAAC) held off No. 8 Siena College (1-7, 1-6 MAAC) 3-1 to advance to Saturday’s MAAC Volleyball Championship Game. After splitting the first two sets 25-21 and 21-25 the Broncs were able to close out Siena in sets three (25-20) and four (25-17) to win the match 3-1. With the victory Rider will make its first ever appearance in the MAAC Volleyball Championship Game. The Broncs will face off against Canisius College tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. with both teams looking for their first-ever MAAC Volleyball Championship.
 
Rider Notes
  • Rider’s Anilee Sher led the match with 56 assists while also adding one kills. Sher had 56 of the Broncs’ 60 in the game. Sher also had the team’s only ace and added 15 digs.
  • Five Broncs recorded double-digit kills. Morgan Romano led the match with 16 kills, Caprice Clarke had 13, Jillian Chan and Ali Ward each finished with 12 and Morgan Koch had 11.
  • Danielle Blanco had a match-high 22 digs.
  • The Broncs have now bested Siena in their last six matches dating back to September 29, 2018.
Siena Notes
  • Siena tallied five-straight points to increase their lead 13-6 in the second set and never relinquished the lead to take the set by a score of 25-21, tying the game at 1-1.
  • Siena’s Dakota Jackson and Alexa Withun each had a team-high 14 kills in the match.
  • Meghan Johnsson (22) and Anna Mayer (19) each had double-digits assists on the day.
  • Starter Gracie Halley tallied 13 digs and Madoka Weldon had 12 coming off the bench.
Tomorrow’s championship game is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
Keep up with all MAAC volleyball action by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by searching #MAACVB. For championship information, visit MAACSports.com/VB.
 

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) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 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.