Sept. 20, 2008

Final Stats

The Siena volleyball team opend its MAAC title defense with a 3-2 loss at Canisius Saturday. The Griffs rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win for the sixth time in nine matches. Burgandy McCurty led all players with 27 kills in a losing effort for the Saints.

Canisius won the match 20-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-10. It was the third time this season they won a match after dropping the first two sets.

Senior Morgan Ammons led Canisius (6-3, 1-0 MAAC) with 16 kills while sophomore Renee Lettow had 15 kills. Freshman Janelle Davis had 44 assists while junior Michelle Godfrey had nine kills and tied with Davis for the team high with six blocks.

The Saints took the opening two sets behind 23 kills from senior captain Kelly Hummel and McCurty. Siena took command of the first set with an 11-3 run that turned a 13-11 Canisius lead into a 22-16 Siena advantage. The Saints closed out the set on a kill from Hummel, who had three of the final six points.

In the second set, Siena held a 17-13 lead before the Griffs used a 7-2 run to take a 20-19 lead off a kill from Godfrey. The teams split the next two points before the Saints won five of the final six points to take the 2-0 lead.

Canisius built a big lead midway through the third set and hung on late to cut the Siena lead in half. The Griffs led by as many as nine points, going up 20-11 on an ace by freshman Danielle Brawn. Siena chipped away at the Canisius lead getting as close as two at 23-21, but the Griffs won the next two points - getting kills from Brittany Gerde and Lettow - to win the third set.

The Griffs built a 16-9 lead in the fourth set, before Siena again closed to within two points at 18-16. But the Griffs responded by winning four of the next five points to push their lead to five points. A kill by Ammons forced the decisive fifth set.

Canisius carried over that formula from sets three and four to win the fifth set. With the score tied at 3-3, the Griffs won five consecutive points, which included consecutive blocks from Godfrey and Davis. Siena never got closer than four the rest of the way as the Griffs opened their conference schedule with a win for the second consecutive season.

McCurty posted a .412 hitting percentage to compliment her 27 kills. Hummel had 15 kills while April London posted 54 assists.

The Saints complete their Western New York swing at Niagara on Sunday.