Oct. 9, 2011
Final Stats
Like it has all season, the Siena volleyball team proved it could play with anybody Sunday. The Saints just haven't shown they can beat anybody yet. Niagara ran its winning streak over MAAC schools to 26 matches, rallying for a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-18) victory after dropping the first set at Siena Sunday.
Kari Honomichl led all players with 20 kills, the final of which ended the match. Hanna Hedrick added 12 kills in the middle, and Ellen Senf was a real difference maker with 11 kills on the right side for the balanced Purple Eagles.
Siena won the first set with a late surge behind the service of setter Sarah Sivertson. The Saints used a 7-0 run to turn a 22-17 deficit into a 24-22 lead, and won the match 25-23 when Honomichl mishit an attack.
The Saints remained within striking distance in the second set as well, but never got closer than the final 25-22 margin after trailing 18-15. Niagara controlled the match after intermission, posting 25-16 and 25-18 wins in sets three and four.
Freshman Jacqueline Skeen killed 11 of her 25 attacks, tying Taylor Akana for the team-high in the category. Sivertson also found some success in the middle with classmate Colleen Ahearn, who finished 10 of her 30 attempts.
Libero Sam Morgan came up just one dig shy of 30 for Niagara. The Purple Eagles were stout on defense, registering 87 digs in the four sets. Siena kept its share of rallies alive as well, posting 75 digs behind Lelsli Akeo's 20 and Akana's 19.
Siena returns to action next weekend in New York, playing Manhattan and Saints Peter's, with very little margin for error to play with in its final 10 MAAC matches.
