Waide, van der Biezen Shine on Senior Day

By Steven Speedling and Kendrick Mooney

POUGHKEEPSIE – Marist volleyball celebrated Senior Day by defeating Saint Peter’s 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at McCann Arena. Seniors Taylor van der Biezen and Lauren Waide got a story book ending for the day with van der Biezen setting the ball to Waide for the final point of the game. The win ends the Red Foxes’ three game losing streak, and looks to spark a winning streak to close out the season. Marist moves to 12-12 overall on the season, and 9-5 in MAAC play.

Marist got off to a quick start in set one, getting out to an early 11-7 lead behind two kills each from Nicki DeSerpa, Sarah Austin, and Stephanie Stone. Megan Fergus extended the Red Foxes’ lead to 18-8 with back to back kills following the media timeout. That would be all Marist needed, as they went on to win the set 25-14

Marist kept its momentum going from set one into set two, and began the set on a 6-1 run. The Peacocks answered with a run of their own to diminish Marist’s lead to 8-7. However, a monster DeSerpa kill on the next play sparked a 6-3 Red Fox run to extend their lead to 14-10. The Peacocks brought the deficit to as low as two, but Marist was able to fight them off and went on to win the set 25-15.

Set three began very tight, as Saint Peter’s and Marist exchanged a few points up until 5-5. However, the Peacocks went on a 14-5 run from there to extend out to a 19-10 lead, forcing a Marist timeout. The deficit was too much to overcome, and Saint Peter’s went on to take the set 25-15. Taylor Van Der Biezen, Lauren Waide, Fergus and Stone each had two kills in the set.

Set four again began tightly contested, with both teams exchanging points up until 7-7.

From there, Marist took four straight points, capped by two straight service aces from McKinley Fox, to get out to an 11-7 lead and force a Saint Peter’s timeout. Marist used the momentum and went on a 6-2 run following the timeout, and extended its lead to 17-10. The Peacocks would get to as close as four points, but the Red Foxes held on to win the set 25-16.

“Lauren and Taylor are so special to our team so excited we could celebrate this special day.” Stated Head Coach Lauren Amundson. “I think a win in general was must needed for our team. It was nice to see them playing loose and enjoying what they were doing. It was nice to see them play our style of play.”