Freshman Ally-Reese Williams stepped up in a major way for the Siena volleyball team on Friday afternoon, as she came off the bench and supplied the Green and Gold with a career-high 15 kills. Her performance helped guide the Saints to their first win of 2019, a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-22) of St. Francis Brooklyn in day one of the Bucknell Invitational.
 
Backing up Williams' performance was fellow freshman Sol Guidarelli, who fell a kill short of her first career double-double with nine kills and a team-high 17 digs. Freshman Maria Llinas was strong up front, guiding the offense with 33 assists and six kills herself. Freshman Gracie Halley was solid defensively finishing with 14 digs, while junior Nicole Deobler chipped in with 10 digs. Abby Huffman was a force at the net, having a hand in five blocks.
 
For St. Francis Brooklyn, Una Stevic collected a team-high 13 kills, while Kizzy Rodriguez topped the defense with 17 digs. Angelee Ng also chipped in with 12 digs.
 
"That was a well-earned victory," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "Saint Francis has been on a winning streak, and it took a solid and well-rounded effort in all facets of the game to prevail. There were so many great efforts it's hard to single out anyone. This kind of team effort is a testament to the character and "team first" attitude of this group."
 
The first set got going a little slow for the Saints, as the Terriers grabbed an early 10-6 lead. Siena would turn that deficit around after a 6-0 run and take a 12-10 lead. The Green and Gold would pull away from there, as Williams stepped up with six kills in the set to take a 25-21 win to go up 1-0. Set two brought much of the same luck, as the Saints used yet another 6-0 late in the set to take a 24-17 lead. The squads traded points as Siena clinched the 2-0 lead thanks to a kill from Llinas.
 
The Green and Gold would struggle once again through the middle part of the third set. Multiple errors forced their hand to a 19-12 deficit. Guidarelli would notch a kill to make the score 19-13, and thus begin a major comeback. In a run that saw three service aces from the Barcelona native, the Saints spun off a 10-0 run to not only tie the match, but take a late 22-19 lead. Williams and Llinas each grabbed a kill to bring the score to match point, with Huffman providing the service ace that shut the door on the Terriers for the Saints first win.
 
Siena returns to the court tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 7 with a doubleheader match to conclude the Bucknell Invitational. They will square off with the host Bucknell at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup with Hampton immediately after at 1:30 p.m.