The Siena Saints volleyball team rolled into Morgan State on Tuesday afternoon to complete a two-game swing in Baltimore to open up the 2019 season. The Green and Gold fell on the wrong side of the result, falling 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) as Morgan State's Zoe McBride tossed up a double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs. The Saints now move to 0-2 overall on the season.
 
Leading the Saints offense was junior Nicole Deobler, who was on the only Siena player with double-digit kills finishing with 10. Deobler also finished with a team-high .400 attack percentage. Junior Dakota Jackson added six kills, while freshman Maria Llinas tossed out 23 assists. Defensively, freshman Madoka Weldon led the Green and Gold with 11 digs. As a team, the Saints put up five blocks.
 
For Morgan State, McBride led the way followed by a nine kill, 10 dig match from Tylar Roberson. Roi Wallace ran the offense with 35 assists, and Jennevy Santos led the digs tally with 12.
 
"That was a tough match because we created too many unforced errors across the board that prevented us from getting into a good rhythm," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "There were sparks of really good things and there were many positives to build on, but we will need to take care of the ball on our side better."
 
The first set ran away fast for the Saints amidst a 5-0 run from Morgan State to make the score 22-15. Sophomore Maddy Dunigan and freshman Ally-Reese Williams would respond with kills, but the Bears were able to finish off the set 25-17 to take a 1-0 lead. The Green and Gold added some fire with a late push in the second set after taking a timeout down 20-14. The Saints would fight back within three at 24-21, but the Bears went to McBride for another kill to clear out the set. Up 2-0, they would finish off the Saints in the third set 25-18 to take the win.
 
Siena returns to the court on Friday, Sept. 6 as they head to Bucknell for the Bucknell Invitational. The Green and Gold will play three matches over the weekend, first facing Saint Francis (PA) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon.