Nov. 13, 2011
Final Stats
The Siena volleyball team is headed to the MAAC Tournament next weekend. The Saints completed their remarkable run to the Championships with an exciting 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22 and 25-17) victory over Manhattan on the final day of regular-season play.
The Saints (13-14/11-7) will be the No. 3 seed, and face archrival No. 2 seed Fairfield (19-9/16-2) in the semifinals Saturday at 4 p.m. Saint Peter's Yanitelli Center in Jersey City. Head coach Garvey Pierre and the Saints have owned Fairfield in MAAC Tournament play over the years, defeating the Stags in the Championship match four straight years from 2005-2008. Fairfield won two hotly contested matches earlier this season.
Siena entered Sunday's match knowing it could advance to the Championships with a loss, but with no guarantees. By virtue of the victory, the Saints held on to third place, avoiding a semifinal match with regular-season champ, and two-time defending Tournament champion Niagara. Niagara will play No. 4 seed Canisius, winners of six straight matches, in Saturday's other semifinal at noon.
The Purple Eagles and Stags lost just three times combined in MAAC play this season, but Siena enters the Championships with plenty of confidence. The Saints were the only team to defeat Niagara this year, doing so in straight sets in Lewiston last weekend.
Following a loss to Niagara on October 9 in Loudonville, Siena's seventh in its first nine league matches, any hopes for a postseason bid seemed dead. Pierre and the Saints have made a habit of proving skeptics wrong.
The guts and determination Siena has displayed over the last six weeks was on full display Sunday. Manhattan won a spirited first set 25-23, putting tremendous pressure on the Saints. Siena answered with a 25-20 win in the second set, scoring five of the final seven points to even the match
With the pivotal third set tied at 21-21, Siena won three straight points, and took the 2-1 lead on a kill from ever-improving freshman Jacqueline Skeen. It turned out, that set punched Siena's ticket to the Tournament, thanks to a Marist win over Saint Peter's.
The Saints locked up the No. 3 seed by scoring eight of the final 10 points in the fourth set, including four straight to end the match.
Taylor Akana led the charge with 15 kills, but the Saints were as balanced as they have been all season. Skeen registered 14 kills, Rachel Stoklosa had 12 and Colleen Ahearn added 10. It's that balance that has been so critical over the Saints' run.
Setter Sarah Sivertson deserves a lot of the credit for finding the right players at the right time. Sivertson racked up 49 kills and was one of 11 Saints with double-figure digs Sunday. The Saints hit .295 for the match, making up for 14 service errors.
Without a single senior to honor on the final day of regular-season play, the future looks as bright as the Saints' storied past, and it starts next weekend.
