Bobcats Head to Big Apple for MAAC Weekend Action at Iona and Manhattan

Saturday, September 30

New Rochelle, NY

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona

Photo by: Ephemia Nicolakis

Bobcats Head to Big Apple for MAAC Weekend Action at Iona and Manhattan

9/28/2023 9:20:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Game #14: Quinnipiac Bobcats (8-5, 4-0 MAAC) at Iona Gaels (7-8, 3-1 MAAC)
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 | 1:00 PM
New Rochelle, Conn. | Hynes Athletic Center
Watch: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here

Game #15: Quinnipiac Bobcats at Manhattan Jaspers
Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023 | 3:00 PM
Riverdale, N.Y. | Draddy Gymnasium
Watch: Click here | Live Stats: Click Here

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Quinnipiac women's volleyball aims to secure a third-consecutive MAAC weekend sweep, as the Bobcats continue its five-game road stand with matches at Iona and Manhattan this weekend.

Quinnipiac will take on the Gaels on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Hynes Athletic Center, followed by a Sunday match at 3 p.m. against the Jaspers at Draddy Gymnasium.

LAST TIME OUT

The Bobcats remained unbeaten in the MAAC portion of its schedule with road victories over Marist in five sets and Siena in four sets on Sept. 23 and 24
With the wins, the Bobcats open its MAAC schedule at 4-0 for the first time since 2016
Ginevra Giovagnoni made her return to the lineup and tallied 17 kills and 12 digs her second double-double of the season in the win over Marist
Yagmur Gunes added 13 kills and six digs, to go along with three service aces in the victory over Marist, while Alexandra Tennon totaled nine kills, 12 digs and three service aces
Damla Gunes notched 42 assists and six digs in the victory over Marist
The following day, Damla Gunes recorded 41 assists and nine digs in the win over Siena
Alexandra Tennon led the match with 16 kills and added nine digs, while Ginevra Giovagnoni contributed 14 kills and seven digs

TALE OF THE TAPE

The Bobcats who are 4-0 in the MAAC will take on 3-1 Iona and 1-3 Manhattan over the weekend
Quinnipiac has won its last two meetings against Iona, with the last victory being a four-set win over the Gaels in the MAAC Quarterfinals on Nov. 17, 2022
The Bobcats have won six of the last seven matches against Manhattan
QU is currently riding a four-game win streak against the Jaspers, with all four wins being sweeps
Graduate student Aryanah Diaz, seniors Lexi Morse and Chloe Ka'ahanui, and sophomore Damla Gunes have been selected as captains for the program

OH CAPTAINS MY CAPTAINS

Quinnipiac women's volleyball Head Coach Kyle Robinson has announced the team's captains for the 2023 campaign
Graduate student Aryanah Diaz, seniors Lexi Morse and Chloe Ka'ahanui, and sophomore Damla Gunes have been selected as captains for the program

LEADING THE PACK

The Bobcats are leading the conference in numerous categories this season
QU leads the MAAC in points per set (15.64)
Quinnipiac's opponents are averaging just 10.04 assists per set, which is the least amount of sets averaged against another opponent in the conference
The Bobcats lead the MAAC in assists per set at 11.40
Opponents are averaging 10.66 kills per set against QU, which is the best mark in the MAAC
The Bobcats' 12.26 kills per set is tops in the conference
The Bobcats' 86 service aces are tops in the MAAC

WEEKLY AWARD RECAP

Sophomore outside hitter Yagmur Gunes was named the MAAC Player of the Week as announced by the conference on Tuesday, Sept. 19
This is the second time this season that Gunes has been named the MAAC Player of the Week and the fifth overall weekly award honor for the Bobcats this season, as Leilani-kai Giusta garnered the award once and was named the Rookie of the Week twice
In a 2-0 weekend for the Bobcats, Yagmur Gunes totaled 29.5 points, 24 kills, 20 digs, five service aces, and a block
In back-to-back sweeps, she averaged 4.92 points, 4.00 kills, 3.33 digs, and 0.83 service aces per set
She opened the weekend with 15 kills and 12 digs in a victory over Niagara. She followed that performance with nine kills, eight digs, and five service aces in the sweep over Canisius
On the season, Gunes is tops in the MAAC with 24 service aces, ranks fourth in points (166), and fourth in kills (138)

CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION

The Bobcats opened the MAAC portion of its schedule with back-to-back sweeping victories over Niagara and Canisius in the 2023 home-opening weekend on Sept. 16-17, playing in front of its fans for the first time since being crowned the 2022 MAAC Tournament Champions
With the wins, the Bobcats open its MAAC schedule at 2-0 for the first time since 2016
Yagmur Gunes led the Bobcats with 15 kills and 12 digs for a double-double in the 3-0 win over Niagara
Damla added 34 assists and 11 digs of her own in the match vs. Niagara, while Leilani-kai Giusta contributed 12 kills and eight digs in the victory
In the sweep over Canisius, Giusta led the Bobcats with 10 kills and added four digs and two blocks, while Yagmur Gunes contributed nine kills, seven digs and five service aces
Damla Gunes led the match with 28 assists and tallied seven digs.

HENSON HAWK INVITATIONAL RECAP

QU went 2-1 over the weekend at the Henson Hawk Invitational, dropping Gardner-Webb in four sets in the opener
The Bobcats followed with a sweeping victory over Hampton, before falling in three sets against hosts UMES
Leilani-kai Giusta QU in the match against Gardner-Webb with a career-high 21 kills, while Damla Gunes added 41 assists and 14 digs for the double-double
Over the weekend, Giusta led Quinnipiac with 39 kills and added 19 digs, five blocks and four service aces

COLUMBIA INVITATIONAL RECAP

QU went 1-2 over the weekend at the Columbia Invitational, falling in four sets against Virginia and Fordham before taking down Columbia in straight sets
Yagmur Gunes tallied 12 kills, 12 digs and five service aces in the win over Columbia
Leilani-kai Giusta led the match with 16 kills and added five digs and three assists
Gunes and Giusta were the top performers Bobcats over the weekend
Gunes tallied three consecutive double-doubles over the weekend at the Columbia Invitational and totaled 52.0 points, 43 kills, 41 digs, and nine service aces
In a three-game weekend for Giusta at the Columbia Invitational, Giusta totaled 49.0 points, 46 kills, and 22 digs

HOKIE INVITATIONAL RECAP

The Bobcats opened their season at the Hokie Invitational, going 1-2 over the weekend, dropping a thrilling five-set contest against Furman in the opener
Aryanah Diaz opened the 2023 season with 21 kills and 11 digs against Furman for her first double-double of the season
The Bobcats picked up their first win of the season in a 3-0 sweep over Morgan State in the weekend finale
Ginevera Giovagnoni led Quinnipiac with 11 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the early campaign
Graduate student Aryanah Diaz was named to the Hokie Invitational All-Tournament Team for her play over the weekend
Diaz totaled 41.5 points, 35 kills, 27 digs, eight assists and six service aces
For the three games, Diaz averaged 3.77 points, 3.18 kills and 2.45 digs per set

DEFENDING MAAC CHAMPS

The Bobcats finished the season with 14 wins, including a seven-game win streak through the end of the regular season and concluding with its first-ever MAAC title
QU defeated No. 3 Iona, 3-1, in the MAAC Quarterfinals, followed by a sweep over No. 7 Rider in the semifinals, then bested No. 1 Fairfield, 3-1, in the championship round to complete the historic run

PRESEASON FAVORITES

Quinnipiac women's volleyball has been selected as the preseason MAAC favorite, as announced on Friday, Aug. 18 by the league office.
The Bobcats earned the No. 1 spot in the 2023 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll alongside Marist, with both programs receiving three of 11 first-place votes and 85 total points each.
Quinnipiac saw two student-athletes named to the preseason All-MAAC team, as graduate student Aryanah Diaz and sophomore Ginevra Giovagnoni garnered the honor.

HEAD COACH KYLE ROBINSON

Head Coach Kyle Robinson is in his fifth season with the Bobcats in 2023
Robinson is 194-142 over his career as a collegiate head coach (7 seasons at LIU prior to QU)
Robinson has firmly cemented himself as one of the premier college coaches in the NCAA's highest division
He effectively etched his signature on Quinnipiac volleyball by becoming the first head coach in program history to lead the program to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2022

REMEMBER NOVEMBER

The Bobcats earned their first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the 2022 MAAC Championship as a sixth seed last November, going 7-0 during the month beginning with a four-game win streak prior to the MAAC Tournament
During the run leading into the MAAC Tournament, the Bobcats had won each of its last four matches, dropping just one set between the contests

STRONG RETURNING GROUP

The Bobcats return 10 members who saw court time from last season's championship team
Among those returners are all three members of the MAAC Tournament All-Championship Team, Aryanah Diaz (outside hitter/opposite), Damla Gunes (libero), and Ginevra Giovagnoni (outside hitter)

THE '23 SCHEDULE

Quinnipiac ends its five-game road stand with a rematch of the 2023 MAAC Championship at Fairfield on October 6.
The Bobcats return to Hamden with a Wednesday MAAC matchup with Manhattan (Oct. 11), followed by home matches with Saint Peter's (Oct. 14) and Rider (Oct. 15).
Quinnipiac heads to Buffalo for its weekend matches against Niagara (Oct. 21) and Canisius (Oct. 22), before returning to Hamden for a four-game homestand. The Bobcats will welcome Iona to Hamden (Oct. 25), followed by its second match with Fairfield (Oct. 29).
Quinnipiac opens the month of November at home against Marist on the fourth before the 2023 home finale against Siena (Nov. 5) for Senior Day.
The Bobcats wrap their regular season on the road with bouts at Rider (Nov. 11) and Saint Peter's (Nov. 12).
For more information on Quinnipiac Volleyball, visit gobobcats.com/volleyball and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @QU_WVB.