The Iona College volleyball team has performed well in the last few weeks. The Gaels had a three-game winning streak snapped by Niagara this past weekend.

The Gaels improved to 12-6 after their victory over Canisius in the team’s fifth set victory on Sunday, which places them in a tied for first in the conference.

Their first win of their three game win streak was on Sept. 26 against Manhattan at home. They beat the Jaspers in four sets, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18.

Senior Alyssa Erickson and junior Nicole Tamburri lead the Gaels with .667 and .625 hitting percentages. Sophomore Theresa Harvey led the Gaels in kills with 17 and also had 10 digs. Freshman Alicia Pawelec also had a great game with 14 kills and five digs.

Seniors Bethany Schornack and Lauren Fojanesi also played well with 13 and 11 digs. Senior Allison Nieters led the team in digs with 31.

The second straight win came against Rider on Oct. 2. They overpowered the Broncs, winning in three straight sets, 25-12, 25-19, 25-16. Erickson and Schornack led the team in hitting percentage with .500.

Schornack and Harvey led the team in kills with eight. Nieters led the team in digs with 22.

The third straight win came against Fairfield on Oct. 3. The Gaels won in four sets, 25-22, 25-15, 18-25, 25-16.

Senior Colleen Genett led the team in hitting percentage at .350. Harvey had 13 kills and Pawelec had 12. Nieters led the team with 12 digs and Fojanesi had 11.

The game against Canisius was an up-and-down affair. The Griffins came out strong winning the first set 25-16.

The Gaels attempted a comeback after a service ace by Tamburri to bring the set to 15-12. Despite the attempt the Griffins began to pull away once again to secure the set victory.

The second set was tightly contested as both teams were tied 22-22. Fojanesi would cap three straight points for the Gaels with a service ace to take the 25-22 second set victory.

The third set did not go well for Iona as the Griffins held the lead throughout. The Gaels brought the game to 12-11 after a kill by senior Rachael Witten.

Several errors by the Gaels brought the game out of reach and the Griffins sealed a 25-20 set victory after a kill by Emily Elek.

In the fourth set the Gaels would answer back with a dominant performance. Iona led by a score of 15-9 at one point which diminished to a 17-14 lead, but the Gaels maintained their composure to regain control and take a 25-20 set win.

The fifth and deciding set was a thriller. The Gaels trailed by a score of 11-9 but tied it up after two Griffins attack errors. Iona would then pull away after a service ace by Erickson. The Griffins’ attack error Elek would give the Gaels the 15-12 set win and match victory.

The final score line for the game was: 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12.