Nov. 18, 2007
Final Stats
It's Siena and Fairfield...again. MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Burgandy McCurty and freshman Aubrey Bobo each posted double-doubles as the top-seeded Saints held off Iona 3-1 (30-18, 30-15, 26-30 and 30-23) in the second MAAC semifinal Sunday afternoon in Fairfield, Conn. The Saints advance to meet the Stags - a 3-1 winner over Loyola - in tomorrow's nationally televised final at 7 p.m. here at Alumni Hall.
Siena defeated Fairfield in the MAAC title game each of the last two seasons. Both times the Saints were the number two seed. This year, the two teams shared the regular-season crown, but Siena earned the number one seed because of a tiebreaker.
The Saints stormed out of the gate Sunday, coasting to easy 30-18 and 30-15 wins in the first two games. The two teams then broke for a 10-minute intermission and the momentum turned.
Iona prevailed 30-26 in the third game, thwarting a desperate Siena rally that tied the game at 19-19. The Gaels posted a .412 hitting percentage in the third game, a far cry from their .160 mark for the match.
The decisive fourth game was competitive, and Siena trailed 19-18 before rallying to score 12 of the final 16 points to claim the match.
"They started to pick it up in the third and fourth set and our defense responded," McCurty said. "That was the key to the match."
McCurty imposed her will at the net, registering 11 blocks to go along with her 17 kills and .469 hitting percentage. The sophomore entered the match ranked sixth nationally in hitting percentage.
Bobo had 17 kills and a match-high 21 digs. Senior Nadiege Honore led the Saints with 19 kills. She added eight digs.
Iona held a surprising 68-61 advantage in digs, but Siena had a 12-2 edge in blocks. Setter April London was a part of seven blocks and added 57 assists, four kills and three aces.
Kristin Allain led the Gaels with 19 kills. Kendall Paulus had 15.
Tomorrow's final has all the makings of a tremendous match. The two schools have become bitter rivals due to their domination of the league over the last 15 years. Combined, Siena and Fairfield have won 11 of the last 14 MAAC Championships. ESPNU will televise the match live from Alumni Hall, which should be filled near capacity with a partisan crowd.
"We will need to bring it for the whole match tomorrow - we can't let up like we did today," McCurty said. "Fairfield is an excellent defensive team with smart players and we know we have our hands full."
