INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian volleyball team dominated their start to their 2022 season Friday afternoon, going 2-0 in their home Knight Invite Tournament. The Knights swept both of their opponents in IU-East and Roosevelt in straight sets, as Riley Anderson begins her head coaching career with a pair of victories.
Marian 3-0 IU-East
Marian fell behind early 2-0 in their opening set of the season to IU-East, but after shaking off the rust went on a tear, scoring eight straight under the serve of Emma Lyons. After an early first set timeout, the Knights offense continued to work as they increased the lead to double-digits thanks to kills from Skyler Van Note and Averi Lanman. Leading 14-4, Marian finished the opening set quickly by using an 11-7 scoring run, taking set one 25-11 on kills from Gabby Fish and Van Note.
The Red Wolves responded in the second set, challenging Marian as the score jockeyed back and forth to an early 7-7 draw. IU-East would hold the edge and build a three-point lead as they were able to get kills through the Knight defense, but a three point swing highlighted by a Lanman and Madison Brooks block brought a tie. Marian would again fall behind by three, but rallied through a pair of timeouts to take a 23-22 lead after getting kills from Van Note and Fish. Gaining momentum, the Knights ended the set on a 5-3 run, getting a pair of Jai-Lyn Norwood kills and a Sydney Schaffer service ace to lock down a 28-26 victory.
The two sides again exchanged blows in the early stages of the third set as the score pushed to a 10-10 tie, and later a 15-15 stalemate as the team's exchanged side outs. A kill from Fish pushed Marian back to a 17-17 tie, and sparked a run fueled by three IU-East errors, as Marian jumped on top 20-17. After a timeout, the Knights increased their run to a six-point swing, pacing their way to a win as Norwood nailed away the 25-19 third set, completing the sweep.
Fish led Marian in kills in the opening match of the year with 14 while recording zero errors, while Norwood and Van Note each had 11 kills. Van Note added 11 digs to complete a double-double, and libero Gianna Feld led the Knights with 17 digs. Lyons record 12 digs and had three aces, and setter Katie Hardegree had 22 assists in the win.
Marian 3-0 Roosevelt
Rested after a wait in between matches, Marian was crisp in a one-sided sweep of Roosevelt as they locked in their second win of the season. After a tight start through 10 rallies, the Knights began to blow the opening set apart by getting a string of kills from Norwood, Brooks, and Lanman. A Jaymison Summers kill forced a Laker timeout at 11-5, and after the break Marian scored six of the next nine points to force a second stoppage. Leading 17-8, Marian capped off their commanding 11-1 run by winning the first set, ending the game on a Feld ace.
Much like the first set, Marian built an early lead on Emma Lyons serve, growing a stout 8-1 lead. Norwood and Van Note helped balloon Marian's lead, and following a Roosevelt attack error and Schaffer service ace, the Knights built a 15-4 lead. Norwood, Van Note, and Lanman secured the second set win, taking 10 of the final 13 rallies to win 25-8. In the third set, Marian rotated in some of their new faces, and got strong results from Sarah Bennett and Avery Toole as the pair made their Knight debuts. Alison Dreves helped the pair of newcomers build the Knight attack, and with strong spikes from Norwood and Fish, Marian controlled the final set, winning 25-19 to complete the sweep.
Norwood was the only player to reach double-digit kills in the third set, hitting a whopping .667 as she converted 14 of her 21 attacks for kills. Fish had six kills, and Toole had four in her collegiate debut. Hardegree scored the winning kill in the third set and led the Knights with 24 assists, while Ainsley Neighbors had 13 assists in her second match as a setter for the Knights. Marian's defense was balanced in the win, with Feld leading the team with nine digs, while Summers recorded three total blocks, including one solo.
Marian will play Shawnee State tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. for their third match of the tournament, and will finish with a match at 1 p.m., with their opponent to be determined off the final results of the weekend.
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