LOUDONVILLE – After winning two matches in a row to begin their home schedule, the Siena Saints stumbled on Sunday afternoon as they fell to the Fairfield Stags by a final score of 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 18-25, 20-25).

Junior Nicole Deobler and freshman Ally-Reese Williams each collected 10 kills for the Saints to top the offense. Defesnively, freshman Sol Guidarelli snagged 22 digs, while classmate Madoka Weldon added 18 digs. Freshman Gracie Halley stayed consistent, collecting 11 digs for the third consecutive match. Maria Llinas also tossed out 35 total assists and had a hand in three blocks, while sophomore Abby Huffman also tossed her hand in three blocks.
 
For Fairfield, Mayda Garcia had a solid game with 13 kills and 19 digs, leading the Stags in both categories. Joelle Battles put up 11 kills, while both Julia Kallen and Kaylie Butts each had 10 kills. Kallen added 11 digs to collect a double-double on the match. Butts contributed with a hand in four of Fairfield's eight blocks. Morgan Doll played solid defensively, adding 17 digs.
 
"That was a close and exciting match with lots of sustained rallies and extended plays," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "I thought Fairfield did a good job at running their transition offense off of broken play defense, but I know we'll continue to improve at that as well. It was a good close match and the team played really well, even in the loss."
 
In the first set, Siena hopped out to an early 8-4 lead that prompted a Fairfield timeout right out of the gate. The timeout would work, as the Stags ran off an 8-1 run to then take a 12-9 lead. The Green and Gold would battle through, taking advantage of early Fairfield mistakes to pull to a 22-18 lead. However, a pair of Siena mistakes and a pair of kills by Luci Albertson and Julia Kallen tied things up at 22-22, forcing a Siena timeout. Out of the timeout, Deobler would knock down a kill to give Siena the slight lead, and would give them the 24-22 lead after a Fairfield attack error. After a Fairfield kill from Battles, Deobler finished off the set with a kill to put Siena up 1-0 with the 25-23 win.
 
Fairfield would wake up in the second and third sets, as the Stags took an 8-1 lead in the second set. As the second set went along, Fairfield put up their most efficient attacking set with a .371 attack percentage with 14 kills on 35 attempts. In the third set, the Saints would lose their consistency on offense, hitting a -.024. Siena trailed only 18-16 midway through before Fairfield broke open the set with a 5-0 run to take a 23-16 lead. A ball handling error by Siena would finish off the third set, as Fairfield hopped ahead 2-1 overall on the match.
 
Junior Dakota Jackson began the fourth set with a kill for the Saints, before Fairfield went on another long run with six straight points. After battling back in the set, Siena would tie things up at 10-10 after a kill from Huffman. That led to another pair of points, as Llinas scored an ace, and freshman Isabella Ultsch collected a kill. Up 12-10, Siena went back and forth with the Stags to a 19-18 lead thanks to a Fairfield attack error. But the Stags stepped up late, with Butts preceding a service ace for a pair of points to retake a 20-19 lead, and another two points on Siena errors. With the score 22-19, Fairfield would get a pair of kills and a service ace to clinch the match.
 
Siena returns to the court this Wednesday, Sept. 25 when they travel to take on the Binghamton Bearcats on the road. First set for Wednesday night's match is set for 7 p.m.