BUFFALO – The Saint Peter's University women's volleyball team took a tightly contested opening frame but host Canisius responded with three straight set victories to claim the two schools' Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) showdown on Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.
The Basics
Score: Canisius 3, Saint Peter's 1 (24-26, 25-11, 25-18, 25-22)
Records: Saint Peter's (1-19, 0-9) | Canisius (6-12, 6-3)
Location: Koessler Athletic Center | Buffalo, NY
Top Peacock Performers
- Senior Angeleyshka Curbelo was the top striker with a team-high 11 kills, while graduate student Wildalys Soto was responsible for 27 of her team's 42 kills as the top Saint Peter's assister.
- Rookie Charlee Cordts and sophomore Alwen Pila shared the team lead with 11 digs on the defensive front.
- At the net front, sophomore Brianna Jones led all Peacocks with five on the day.
Key Moments
- After falling behind in the opening set by a 9-8 margin, Saint Peter's won eight of the next 11 points to grab a 16-11 lead.
- Canisius won four straight points to turn a six-point deficit into two (20-18), but the visitors responded with a 4-2 run to put the pressure on the hosts and earn four set points.
- The Golden Griffins rallied to tie the first frame, but a kill from Curbelo followed by an errant attack would give the Peacocks the opening stanza by a 26-24 margin.
- Canisius set the tone early in the second set with a 6-0 run right out of the gate. The Peacocks would only be able to get to within five points from there on out as Canisius easily claimed the second set, 25-11.
- The Peacocks rolled out of the gate with four straight points to start the third before a 6-2 run leveled the score at 6-6.
- After seeing the Peacocks claw to within a point of the hosts at 16-15, Canisius would go on a 7-2 run over the next nine points to balloon their lead to 23-17. Saint Peter's grabbed one last point, but the Golden Griffins put the important third set away with back-to-back points to go ahead in the match, 2-1.
- With a must-win fourth set tied at 7-7, Saint Peter's watched again as Canisius used a big run (7-2) to go ahead by five (14-9). But the Peacocks responded with five straight points of their own to level the ledger at 15-15.
- A kill from senior Stephanie Rivera made it 20-20 before sophomore Brianna Jones finished off a feed from Soto to get to within one at 23-22, but Canisius closed out the match with back-to-back points to earn a 25-22 win in the fourth and final frame.
Stat Breakdown
- Canisius held the lead in kills on the match, 58-42.
- Golden Griffin servers edged the Peacocks in aces at 9-5.
- Blocks were even on the day at seven apiece for both sides.
- Canisius also held edges in assists (54-37) and digs (83-60).
Up Next
Saint Peter's wraps up its weekend in Western New York with a Sunday afternoon showdown at Niagara at 12 p.m.
