Oct. 22, 2011
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Elizabeth Ives had six aces to lead the resurgent Siena volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23 and 25-17) victory over visiting Rider Saturday afternoon at the ARC. It was the third straight MAAC win for the Saints. They try to even their conference mark tomorrow at home against Loyola.
"I like the way we are playing now," head coach Garvey Pierre said after the match. "Rider has a tendency to play up against better teams, and I thought we were focused and kept the pressure on with tough serves."
Taylor Akana was the only player to reach double figures in kills for either team. She had 18 after posting 32 in a 3-1 win at Rider in September. Jacqueline Skeen returned to the rotation and killed nine of her 18 attacks in the middle. Junior Colleen Ahearn had eight kills in 17 attacks.
Siena's aggressive serving was the difference though, with Ives, Arielle Smith, Rachel Stoklosa and Sarah Sivertson keeping Rider off balance all afternoon.
The Saints used two setters for the first time this season. Sivertson registered 23 assists and 12 digs, and Ives added 17 assists to go along with her six aces.
Stephanie Nagy and Kayla Wong combined for half of the Brocns' 26 kills. Rider also used two setters, with Ashlee Amatulli collecting 12 assists and Bridget Sheerin chipping in seven.
The Saints came out on fire, jumping out to a 15-7 lead in the first set before the Broncs stormed back to cut the advantage to 20-19. Smith helped Siena hang on, by serving the final four points in a 25-19 win. The second set was back and forth throughout, and remained tied at 23-23, before Smith again finished things off with two strong serves.
Siena won seven straight points behind Smith's serve to take a commanding 11-3 lead in the third set. Sivertson served four straight points late to fend off another Rider rally in the decisive 25-17 victory.
The Saints host Loyola tomorrow in a critical MAAC match. They can even their league record, and inch closer to one of the four Tournament spots.
