QU Volleyball Keeps Making History, Advances To MAAC Title Match

Saturday, November 19

Fairfield, CT

5:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

21-12

Marist College

13-17

Quinnipiac

Marist

QU Volleyball Keeps Making History, Advances To MAAC Title Match

11/19/2016 7:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Freshman setter Maria Pansari (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) had 43 assists to break the Quinnipiac single-season assist record (all divisions) and had an ace for set point in a pivotal 25-23 third set win, as the third-seeded Quinnipiac volleyball team defeated second-seeded Marist 3-1 in the MAAC Semifinals on Saturday evening at Fairfield's George Bisacca Court.

With the 25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24 win, the Bobcats improve to 21-12 on the season and advance to their first ever Division I conference championship match, taking on top-seeded Fairfield tomorrow at 2 p.m. The 21 wins also equal the total that Quinnipiac had for the last six seasons (from 2010-15) combined, including only three last season and two in 2014.

Pansari's 43 assists give her 1,327 this season, surpassing the old record of 1,314 which was set by Jen McClain in 1997, Quinnipiac's last season at the Division II level. She long ago broke the school's Division I record, as no previous setter had reached the 1000 assist mark since the Bobcats moved to Division I in 1998.

More important than the record, though, as a key ace that gave the Bobcats the third set and a 2-1 advantage in the match. Pansari's assist to sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller (Collegeville, Pa.) gave Quinnipiac a 24-23 lead (and left her one shy of McClain's record), and after a Marist timeout, she came through with an ace to give the Bobcats a momentum-changing win.

Quinnipiac appeared to be on its way to riding that momentum to an easy fourth-set win, jumping out to an 8-2 lead which was keyed ny two straight blocks from senior middle hitter Allison Leigh (Palmer, Alaska). However, Marist kept chipping away, and took a 20-18 lead with eyes on forcing a fifth set. The Bobcats battled back, though, as Pansari had another ace, this one after her serve hit the tape and fell over to tie it 20-20, and a Milelr kill put Quinnipiac ahead 23-22.

Miller and junior middle hitter Elizabeth Kloos (Munster, Ind.) combined on a block to give the Bobcats a match point, but Marist fought that one off to tie the score back up. Freshman Natalie Alechko (Old Tappan, N.J.), who had the winning kill for a 16-14 win in the fifth set of the opening round against Niagara on Friday, then came through with another big kill to give the Bobcats a second match point at 25-24. The next point resulted in a long rally, ending as a Marist attack sailed out of bounds along the sidelines as Quinnipiac picked up its second straight tournament win in dramatic fashion.

Kloos took over late in the first set to help the Bobcats to a 25-18 win. After Fairfield closed to within 18-16 with two straight points, Quinnipiac took a timeout and Kloos had three straight kills to put the Bobcats ahead 21-16. The run extended to 6-0 after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey (Merrimack, N.H.) and an ace from freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko (Old Tappan, N.J.), and after Marist fought off two set points, Kloos finished off a 25-18 win with another kill.

Marist was able to use a late run in the second set to pull even at intermission. A kill from sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller (Collegeville, Pa.) gave Quinnipiac a 15-13 lead, but the Red Foxes scored five of the next six points to take an 18-16 lead. The Bobcats surged back in front 21-20 on a block from Kloos and Coffey, but Marist scored the next four points to take control. Kloos had a solo block to close the deficit to 24-22, but Nikki DeSerpa went down the line for the set-winning kill to tie the score 1-1.

Miller led the Bobcats with 13 kills and added 10 digs for her second straight double-double in the MAAC Tournament. Coffey added 12 kills, giving her exactly 400 for the season, while Kloos was also in double figures with 10. Senior Cody Michaels (Versailles, Ky.) added five digs, giving her 995 in her career and at least one more match with a chance to reach the 1000-dig plateau.

Fairfield went undefeated in the regular season in the MAAC (18-0), but was tested a few times late in the year, including a four-set win over Quinnipiac in the regular season finale (26-24 in the fourth). Fairfield was also pushed by Siena in the first semifinal before winning in four sets. The winner of tomorrow's championship match will earn the MAAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.