The Siena Saints concluded their weekend at the Lafayette Invitational on Saturday, as the Green and Gold found a split and walking away with only one victory as they topped the Merrimack College Warriors 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18) in their opening match of the day. Then in their final match of the day, the Saints would fall to the host Lafayette by a final score of 3-0 (26-28, 21-25, 26-28) to wrap up the weekend action.

Match 1: Siena 3, Merrimack 1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18)
Strong play at the net was the name of the game for the Saints in their victory over the Warriors, as the Green and Gold accounted for 12 team blocks. Sophomore Maddy Dunigan stood tall with a hand in seven of the 12 blocks, which included three solo blocks. Freshman Ally-Reese Williams would add the punch on offense, collecting her first collegiate double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Junior Dakota Jackson had a strong showing with eight kills and 10 digs.

The Warriors had solid offensive games from Catherine Flaherty with 15 kills, and Luna Colozzo who finished with 14 kills. Taelyr Czech was the workhorse on defense, providing 19 digs on the match for Merrimack.

"The team turned in a great performance offensively and also in the blocking game," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "That was a balanced win with everyone contributing."

Williams and fellow freshman Isabella Ultsch were strong early in the first set, contributing a combined 11 kills over the set. With the score 14-11 thanks to an attack error from Flaherty, Siena ran away with five straight points which saw Williams collect four kills to take a 19-11 lead. The Green and Gold would finish it off, taking the 1-0 lead. The second set would send problems, as the Warriors scored twice to Siena's one through the middle part of the set, giving Merrimack the cushion to hold off the Saints late take the set 25-22, tying the match up at 1-1.

Siena would flip the script back their way, scoring in bunches in the third and fourth sets to take early leads. Multiple errors, along with kills from senior Kelly Chaney and sophomore Abby Huffman capped off the match for the 3-1 win.

Match 2: Lafayette 3, Siena 0 (26-28, 21-25, 26-28)
The Green and Gold battled with tough results in the first and third sets, as they fell to the host Leopards 3-0. Huffman would lead the offense in the night cap, providing 10 kills, while freshman Madoka Weldon held up the defense with 18 digs. Lafayette's Grace Tulevech collected 16 kills, and Leanna Deegan added 12 kills. Defensively for the Leopards, Katrina Ruggerio led the way with 15 digs.

"You always hate losing, but if you have to drop a match, the way our team played tonight is the way to do it," said Ozols. "We competed for every single point and the team gave an outstanding effort tonight."

The Saints played strong early in the first set, as they earned a 19-16 lead after back-to-back kills from Williams and Ultsch. But Lafayette battled back with three straight points to tie it up at 19-19, and played to a 25-24 lead for the Leopards. But, a pair of bad sets would put Siena back in the drivers seat, looking to snag the set win with a 26-25 lead. But the Leopards answered back, as a kill from Elli Carrera-Justiz and a pair of blocks flipped the momentum and gave Lafayette the 1-0 lead. They used that momentum to come through with the win late in set two as well, going up 2-0.

The Green and Gold battled with their back against the wall in the third set, as runs became the name of the game. A small cluster of three straight points midway through saw the Saints grab a 19-15 advantage. Both sides would trade barbs as Siena came within a point of avoiding the sweep, as they led 24-21 after a kill from Ultsch. But, the Leopards continued to have the answer as they ran off four straight points to take a 25-24 lead. Williams would collect the clutch kill to tie things back up at 25-25 and force extra rallies. After trading points, Deegan and Madi Wahrmund smacked back-to-back kills to give Lafayette the 28-26 victory, solidifying the 3-0 sweep over the Saints.

Siena returns to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 18 when they host the NJIT Highlanders in their home opener at the Alumni Recreation Center. First serve goes up at 6 p.m.