Aug. 27, 2011

Sacred Heart Final Stats
Syracuse Final Stats

A day after winning its season-opener for the first time in four years, the Siena volleyball team was swept in a pair of matches Saturday at the Big Orange Tournament. The Saints lost a morning match to Scared Heart (25-23, 25-23 and 25-14), and dropped the Tournament finale in straight sets to host Syracuse (25-15, 25-17 and 25-19).

Taylor Akana was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 3.36 kills in the three matches.

Siena lost two competitive sets to the Pioneers to start the day. They led just once in the opening set (14-13), but trailed by no more than two points. There were 13 ties, the final coming at 23-23.

Siena led the second set 21-18 after a kill be Jacqueline Skeen, but the Pioneers reeled off six straight points to seize control of the match. SHU coasted to a 25-14 win in the third set to seal the victory.

Akana had 10 kills and seven digs to lead the Siena offense, which managed just a .000 attack percentage for the match. Libero Lesli Akeo led all players with 21 digs.

Syracuse broke free from a 6-6 tie with a 5-0 run in the first set of the final match, and led by no fewer than four points the rest of the way. The Orange scored eight of the final 10 points in the first set after clinging to a 17-13 advantage. A 7-2 run turned a 10-8 lead into an insurmountable 17-10 edge in the second set, and SU scored six of the final seven points to post a 25-19 win in the decisive third set.

Akana led Siena with seven kills in the nightcap, Colleen Ahearn and Rachel Stoklosa each had six. Ying Shen, Andrea Fisher and Tournament MVP Noemie Lefebvre each had 14 kills to lead Syracuse, which won the Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record.