The Vilis Ozols era officially kicked off on Saturday afternoon, as the Siena Saints earned their first victory of the season as they split a doubleheader in the final day at the Dartmouth Invitational. They would fall to Boston College 3-0 before sweeping Lafayette 3-0 to close out the weekend strong. Freshman Abby Huffman stood out, as she was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance over the weekend.

Match 1: Boston College 3, Siena 0 (20-25, 18-25, 16-25)

Cat Balido smashed a match-high 11 kills and hit .529 in leading the Eagles (8-0) to victory. Amaka Chukwujekwu chipped in with seven kills, while Jane Dejarld tossed out 22 assists. As a team, the Eagles recorded 10 blocks on the day.

 "The team came out with a nice effort today, which was good to see," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "I liked how we managed our side of the court much better. It's still a young season and we're still a young team, and the growth and development continues."

Junior Nicole Deobler led the way for Siena (1-8) with seven kills, with senior Anjonija Ivanivic collecting six and Huffman five. Ivanovic also led the team with eight digs, with sophomore JoJo Ishida coming in at eight as well. Freshman Maddy Dunigan put her hand in four of the team's five blocks in the match.

The first set would go down to the wire, as the Saints trailed by as little as two points late, as the score stood 22-20. But a 3-0 run from the Eagles would end the set, and keep the momentum in favor of Boston College. Siena would struggle in set two, but bounce back in set three. They would fight to a 15-12 score before Boston College took off on a 10-4 run to take the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.

Match 2: Siena 3, Lafayette 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15)

Huffman would have her career game in her collegiate career to this point, as she would collect 11 kills in the Saints' first win of the season. She would also put her hand in four of the team's five blocks. As a team, the Saints hit a season-best .398 on the match led by Huffman's .667.

Sophomore Dakota Jackson fell just short of double-digit kills with nine, while Deobler added eight. Sophomore Jessica Eblin added 30 assists. The Saints only recorded eight hitting errors, their smallest number of the season in that category.

Siena would not hold a lead early in the first two sets. However, they would come back in each set before taking a lead for good. Trailing 10-9 in the first set, Siena put up a 8-0 to take a 17-10 lead and wouldn't give it up. In the second set, Lafayette (2-6) and Siena would go point for point, having things tied up at 22-22. However, three straight points from the green and gold gave Siena the 2-0 lead. The third set was all Siena, as the Saints took control and won 25-15 to clinch the match.

For Lafayette, Kelly Austin led the way with eight kills with Leanna Deegan putting up seven.

"That first win of the season was long in coming but it was the result of a lot of hard work on the part of the team," said Ozols. "Abby had a stellar match and tournament. Jess did a fabulous job of running the offense and the team turned in a complete performance to win this one."

The Saints return to the floor Tuesday, September 11 when they play host to Binghamton in their home opener at the ARC. The match is set to serve off at 6 p.m.