Bobcats Set for MAAC Volleyball Championships in Orlando

Thursday, November 17

Orlando, Fla. / ESPN Wide World of Sports

7:30 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona

Nicole Legg skies in for the attack against Marist

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats Set for MAAC Volleyball Championships in Orlando

11/16/2022 12:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: QU Athletic Communications

No. 6 Quinnipiac Bobcats (11-14, 10-8 MAAC) vs. No. 3 Iona Gaels (17-11, 12-6 MAAC)
Thursday Nov. 17, 2022 | 7:30 PM
ESPN Wide World of Sports | Orlando, Fla.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – The sixth-seeded Quinnipiac volleyball team takes on third-seeded Iona with a spot in the MAAC Semifinals on the line. First serve from the ESPN Wide World of Sports is set for a 7:30 p.m. start on ESPN+.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Thursday's match between the Bobcats and Gaels will mark the 28th meeting between the two programs
Iona is 22-5 all-time against Quinnipiac
The Bobcats are 0-2 against Iona all-time in postseason play
Quinnipiac and Iona split its two matches against eachother
The last time the two sides matched up, Quinnipiac came away with a four-set victory over Iona on Nov. 6, 2022 on the road
Aryanah Diaz posted a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs
Ginevra Giovagnoni posted the second double-double of her career with 11 kills and 16 digs
Damla Gunes recorded 47 assists and 11 digs in the victory
Iona enters the tournament with a 17-11 overall record and 12-6 MAAC record to earn the No. 3 seed
Mackenzie Wiggins leads the Gaels with 249.5 points and 208 kills

QUINNIPIAC vs. THE FIELD

With a win on Thursday, the Bobcats will advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the third time in four seasons
With a win, the sixth-seeded Bobcats will take on the winner of No. 2 Marist and No. 7 Rider or No. 10 Manhattan
Quinnipiac went 0-2 against Marist this season, narrowly dropping a five-set match in the last matchup on Oct. 5 in Hamden
The Bobcats went 2-0 against Manhattan this season with both victories ending in sweeps
Quinnipiac went 2-0 vs. Rider this season as well, picking up three-set victories in both contests this season
On the other side of the bracket awaits top-seeded Fairfield, who will take on the winner between No. 8 Niagara and No. 9 Saint Peter's
The winner between No. 5 Siena and No. 4 Canisius will take on the winner of the MAAC Quarterfinals match between Fairfield and either Niagara or Saint Peter's

COMING IN HOT

Winners in nine of their last 11 games, the Bobcats enter the MAAC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference
The Bobcats have won each of its last four matches, dropping just one set between the contests
The Bobcats completed a weekend sweep over Manhattan (3-0) and Iona (3-1) on Nov. 5-6
First year outside hitter Yagmur Gunes led the way with 10 kills and 10 digs for the first double-double of her collegiate career, as the Quinnipiac volleyball team downed Manhattan in straight sets
Yagmur Gunes totaled a career-high six service aces as well in the match
Aryanah Diaz narrowly missed a double-double with eight kills and 13 digs
Damla Gunes, Aryanah Diaz and Ginevra Giovagnoni posted a double-double apiece, as the Quinnipiac volleyball team downed Iona in four sets on the road inside of the Hynes Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
Aryanah Diaz posted a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs
Ginevra Giovagnoni posted the second double-double of her career with 11 kills and 16 digs
Damla Gunes recorded 47 assists and 11 digs in the victory.
The Bobcats wrapped up regular season play this past weekend with home sweeps over Saint Peter's and Rider
Aryanah Diaz led the Bobcats with 13 kills, as the Quinnipiac volleyball team downed Saint Peter's in straight sets at home inside of Burt Kahn Gym on Saturday afternoon
Nicole Legg totaled nine kills, three digs and three blocks, Damla Gunes recorded 28 assists and 11 digs for a double-double and Faavae Kimsel Moe led Quinnipiac with 14 digs
Quinnipiac women's volleyball celebrated its Senior Day in style with a sweep in three sets over MAAC foe Rider at home inside of Burt Kahn Gym on Sunday afternoon.
Aryanah Diaz and Ginevra Giovagnoni led Quinnipiac with 11 kills apiece
Diaz added nine digs in the victory
Damla Gunes posted 35 assists, five digs and five service aces

STAYING HOT VS THE PURPLE EAGLES

Aryanah Diaz tallied 16 kills to lead the Quinnipiac volleyball program past Niagara in straight sets at home on Oct. 23 to extend the Bobcats' win streak to four games, its longest since 2019
Nicole Legg contributed six kills and six blocks
Alexandra Tennon paced the Bobcats with 11 digs
Damla Gunes tallied a game-high 27 assists in the victory.

DIAZ GUIDES BOBCATS PAST GOLDEN GRIFFINS

Aryanah Diaz tallied 13 kills and 13 digs for a double-double to lead the Quinnipiac volleyball program past Canisius in four sets to extend the Bobcats' win streak to three games on Oct. 22
Damla Gunes added 38 assists
Alexandra Tennon notched 10 kills and seven digs
Nicole Legg contributed five kills and a career-high seven service aces in the win.

BOBCATS STRUT PAST THE PEACOCKS

Alexandra Tennon tallied 11 kills and 10 digs for a double-double to lead the Quinnipiac volleyball program past Saint Peter's in four sets on Oct. 16
Damla Gunes added 38 assists and 10 digs for a double-double
Aryanah Diaz added 17 kills, four service aces and four digs in the win.

RODE PAST RIDER

Aryanah Diaz led the way with 13 kills and four service aces, as the Quinnipiac volleyball program downed Rider in straight sets on the road on Oct. 15
Damla Gunes added 28 assists in the victory
Nicole Legg added six kills and three blocks.

BIG APPLE BOBCATS

Alexandra Tennon tallied 10 kills to extend her double-figure kill streak to 12 consecutive matches, as the Bobcats downed MAAC foe Manhattan in straight sets on Oct.9
Milena Martinon added eight kills, while Giorgia Donghi contributed six kills of her own in the Bobcats' home win
Damla Gunes totaled 26 assists and a career-high six service aces in the victory.

FIRST MAAC WIN

The Bobcats earned its first MAAC win of the season in a thrilling five-set victory over Siena on the road on Sept. 24
The Bobcats took the opening two sets, before dropping the next two
The Bobcats found themselves down 10-4 in the final set before slowly battling back to tie the set at 13-13. With the set tied, Damla Gunes scored a block at the net to give the Bobcats match point, before assisting on a kill from Alexandra Tennon to take the final set and match.
Tennon posted 16 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season, while Aryanah Diaz added 14 kills and 12 digs for the Bobcats in the victory.

DOMINANT DIAZ

Quinnipiac's leader in kills (297), kills per set (3.23) and points (337.0), Aryanah Diaz has been stellar for the Bobcats all season
Diaz owns 10 double-doubles on the season, most recently recording 14 kills and 12 digs in a victory over Rider on Nov. 6
She owns eight double-doubles in MAAC contests
Diaz was named the MAAC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Tuesday, Oct. 18
Diaz was stellar for the Bobcats in three games, averaging 5.41 points, 4.55 kills and 2.09 digs per set over 11 sets of action.
In a 2-1 week for Quinnipiac, Diaz totaled 50 kills, 23 digs, nine service aces and four assists
In 18 MAAC contests, Diaz ranked second in kills in MAAC matches with 256 and second in kills per set at 3.94
With 811 career kills, Diaz ranks third all-time in the program's Div. I history
With 845 career assists, Diaz ranks seventh all-time in the program's Div. I history
With 1,042 career digs, Diaz ranks second all-time in the program's Div. I history and fourth in the program's all-time history

Faavae Kimsel Moe embraces with Aryanah Diaz

DAZZLING DAMLA

First year Damla Gunes has made an instant impact for the Bobcats
Gunes' 734 assists on the season is tops on the team and ranks third in the MAAC, while her 9.06 assists per set ranks third in the MAAC as well
With 734 assists, she is the first Bobcat to record 700 assists in a season since Maria Pansari posted 1,126 in 2018
She has recorded six double-doubles on the season, most recently posting 28 assists and 11 digs this past Saturday against Saint Peter's
47 assists and 11 digs in a win over Iona on Nov. 6
She totaled 38 assists and 10 digs in a win over Rider on Oct. 15
Gunes notched 40 assists and 14 digs against Iona on Oct. 8
She tallied 18 assists and 11 digs against Delaware State on Sept. 3
She has recorded 30 or more assists 11 times this season, most recently posting 35 assists in a win over Rider this past Sunday
Damla Gunes accumulated 55 assists in QU's contest against Canisius on Sept. 18
Gunes tallied 55 assists and 12 digs against Fordham on Aug. 27 for the first double-double of her collegiate career
She is the first Quinnipiac player to tally 50 or more assists twice in a season since Maria Pansari did so six times in 2018
Her 55 assists in a contest stands as the second-most assists in a match by a MAAC player this season, doing so twice

AMAZING ALEXANDRA

Tennon posted double-figure kills in 13 consecutive matches, dating back to the Delaware State match on Sept. 3 and concluding at Quinnipiac's win over Rider on Oct.15
Alexandra Tennon was named to the All-Tournament team after totaling 43 kills, 30 digs and six blocks at the Comfort Inn-vitational hosted by Morehead State
Tennon led the Bobcats in kills in all three matches, posting team-high amounts of 11 kills (Morehead State) and 16 kills twice (North Alabama/Robert Morris)

NOTORIOUS NICOLE

Graduate student Nicole Legg has proven herself to be a top two-way player in the conference
Legg is tops in the conference in hitting percentage (.394)
Legg has tallied 10 or more kills in three matches this season, most recently posting 13 kills against Marist on Oct. 5
Legg recorded a season-high eight blocks against Marist on Oct. 5
Nicole Legg contributed five kills and a career-high seven service aces in the win over Canisius on Oct. 22
Of her career-high seven service aces in the match, five came in the clinching fourth set
Legg posted six kills and six blocks in Quinnipiac's three-set victory over Niagara on Oct. 23

WAY TO GO GI

First year Ginevra Giovagnoni has totaled 111 kills on the season
She boasts 2.92 kills per set on the season
Giovagnoni has posted two double-doubles on the season, most recently tallying 12 kills and 16 digs in a win over Iona on Nov. 6
Giovagnoni has led the Bobcats in kills in three matches this season
Giovagnoni was named the MAAC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday, Aug. 30
This was the first weekly award honor for Giovagnoni this season after just two games played
She combined to tally a team-best 31 kills, 15 digs, two service aces and a block in Quinnipiac's opening matches against Stony Brook and Fordham
Giovagnoni recorded nine kills, eight digs and two service aces in the Bobcats' opener at Stony Brook
She followed that performance with a team-high 22 kills with a blistering .409 attack-percentage and seven digs against Fordham