The Siena Saints fell to Big East foe St. John's on Friday night by a final of 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-13) in their opening match at the Cornell Invitational.

Rachele Rastelli led the match with a high of 13 kills for the Red Storm (4-0), while Lexie Lobdell finished with seven kills and 11 digs. For the Saints (0-4), junior Nicole Deobler led the way with nine kills and three blocks with freshman Abby Huffman chipping in with seven kills, hitting a season-high .545. Sophomore Jessica Eblin tossed out 24 assists, while defensively Dakota Jackson led the way in digs with 13.

"Even in the loss, our team grew a great deal," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "There were bright spots in all facets of the game, and those strengths will serve us well as we continue to grow. Jess Eblin showed wonderful command of our offense and that was a huge positive for us. Abby also put up some great numbers against a large blocking lineup."

An early 5-0 run by St. John's opened up an 11-6 lead, and would not relinquish a lead smaller than that the rest of the set. They would win the set by 12 points, outscoring Siena 6-2 over the final rallies.

Siena would look to make their move in set two. With a 17-12 lead in the set after an Eblin kill, St. John's would make a comeback push. They would put up five straight points to pull back within one point. The set would go to overtime, as an attack error by St. John's knotted the set at 25-25. But kills from Jordan McCalla and Erica DiMaulo clinched the set for the Red Storm, giving them the 2-0 lead.

St. John's would take an early lead in set three, and wouldn't look back. Siena would get back within four points, getting the score to 14-10 halfway through the set. But a 9-3 run to close out the set would finish things off, giving St. John's the win.

The Saints will return to the court tomorrow for day two of the Cornell Invitational, when they square off against host Cornell at 10 a.m. and Buffalo at 5 p.m.