Box Score JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Saint Peter's women's volleyball team dropped its MAAC opener to Niagara, 3-0 (15-27, 17-25, 18-25) Saturday afternoon in the Yanitelli Center. Caitlinn Williams led the Peacocks with 5 kills and a team-high of 11 digs.
"I know the scores don't really show it, but as a team I'm seeing some things that make me believe we are going in the right direction," said head coach Amable Martinez. "Defensively we were there step by step, we had the same amount of blocks and fifty digs we just got to put the ball away."
Kenyale McGinnis followed Williams with 10 digs while Karla Seda and Carolina Ruiz both added seven digs.
Leaders for the Purple Eagles were Nicole Mathis with 10 kills and 13 digs, Jaycie Roberts followed with eight kills and Rylee Hunt added 20 digs.
In the first set, the the Peacocks kept the game close as they fell behind by three points at, 7-11. Soon after, the Purple Eagles started to pull away as they scored four straight points increasing their lead by seven, 15-8. The Peacocks added one more point to the board and Niagara added five, taking a 20-9 lead over the Peacocks. The Peacocks scored the next three straight points in the set, cutting the deficit to 12-20. The Purple Eagles would go on to secure five of the final eight points of the set to win 25-15.
The Peacocks trailed the Purple Eagles 5-10 early in set number two. As the game went on, the Peacocks fought to catch up falling behind 10-18. A kill by Alexus Sharp and an error on Niagara added two points to the board cutting the score to 12-18. The Peacocks started to close in on the Purple Eagles getting the score to 17-22, but Niagara ended the Peacock run and closed out the set at 25-17.
In the final set, the Peacocks trailed early but continued to fight as they closed in on the Purple Eagles, trailing 10-12. Niagara then pulled away to lead Saint Peter's by five at 16-11. Saint Peters fought to catch up, but the Purple Eagles continued to lead, extending their lead to 20-15. The Peacocks added three more points before Niagara won the set 25-18.
Up next the Peacocks will play Canisius on Sunday, September 17 at 1pm.
