In a match that faced potential playoff implications, the Siena Saints volleyball program fell short in their Wednesday night thriller with the Quinnipiac Bobcats by a final of 3-0 (29-31, 20-25, 20-25). Siena has now split the season series with the Bobcats after previously beating Quinnipiac at home earlier this season.
 
The Saints were led by a double-double night from freshman Sol Guidarelli, who scored 11 kills and 10 digs on the evening. Also joining the 11 kill club was junior Dakota Jackson and sophomore Maddy Dunigan. Jackson would hit a solid .409, while Dunigan topped that with a team-best .556. Siena also had four different players with double-figure digs, led by Gracie Halley with 12 digs. Freshman Maria Llinas and Ally-Reese Williams each had 11 digs apiece to go with Guidarelli's 10 digs.
 
Quinnipiac's Olga Zampati and Georgia Tselepi owned the offense, putting up 17 and 15 kills respectively, accounting for 32 of the Bobcats' 54 total kills on the night. Both hit relatively close attack percentages as well, as Tselepi slightly edged Zampati .419 to .417 for the match. Libero Alejandra Rodriguez collected 21 total digs, a match-high, while Aryanah Diaz tossed out 31 assists.
 
"The team battled and played a tough match," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "All three games were so close, and for a couple plays could have gone either way."
 
The Bobcats were the stronger team early in the first set, as they leaped out to a 19-11 with minimal early mistakes. But the Saints wouldn't quit, as they went on a major run as the Green and Gold were able to take a 23-22 lead. That would be the start of a war of rallies, as Quinnipiac won the next two points to take a 24-23 lead. From there, the Saints and Bobcats traded points as the Green and Gold answered each set point Quinnipiac would get as Ultsch and Dunigan had a pair of kills apiece to keep Siena in the set. With the score 29-29 after Dunigan's second kill, two consecutive Siena attack errors gave Quinnipiac the two points they needed, giving them the set 31-29.
 
Siena would be the aggressor in the second set, taking a 13-9 lead, using an early 10-2 run to get to that point. But the Bobcats wouldn't go away quietly, as they fought back, gaining a major cushion with a 5-0 after they were able to tie things up at 18-18. Now up 23-18, Quinnipiac finished off the second set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead. The same would happen in set three, as a 19-19 tie would turn into a 25-20 win for the Bobcats once again thanks to a 6-1 run to end the match.
 
The Saints will return to the court this Saturday, Nov. 26 when they face Iona at the Alumni Recreation Center at 1 p.m.