Mercyhurst wins first set, but unable to handle canisius

Mercyhurst Volleyball hosted Canisius on Friday evening in an early-season non-conference matchup. After claiming the first set, the Lakers were unable to maintain momentum, dropping the next three sets to fall 3-1 to the Griffins.

Set one saw Canisius jump out to a quick 7-1 lead, but the Lakers responded with resilience. On the serve of Andrea Zaric, Mercyhurst rallied, with Zaric firing off three consecutive aces to push the Lakers ahead 14-11. Mercyhurst continued to control the pace as Alyssa Krause added an ace and Kaitlin Murphy contributed a key kill, helping the Lakers to a 25-20 first-set victory.

Canisius bounced back in a tightly contested second set. Mercyhurst kept pace with the Griffins, with Kelsie Gaiter-Davis recording three service aces late in the set. However, Canisius held on, taking the set 27-25.

In the third set, both teams exchanged runs. Mercyhurst pulled within one late in the set after a kill from Brice Hansen, but Canisius responded by scoring four of the final five points to win 25-21. The Griffins carried that momentum into the fourth set, quickly pulling away for a decisive 25-13 victory.