LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Siena Saints volleyball team displayed a strong defensive effort on Saturday afternoon, as they defeated the Manhattan Jaspers by a final score of 3-1 (18-25, 25-11, 25-16, 25-19). Junior Gracie Halley tied a career-high with 27 digs, as the Saints totaled 19 blocks as a team.
 
Led by Halley, the Saints had five different players with double-digit digs as Sara Wagner, Greta Stjade, and Claire Isaksen all had 14 digs, while Emily Wunder chipped in 10. Wagner had a strong showing, completing a double-double with those 14 digs by scoring a team-high 14 kills. Freshman Olga Sawinska and Wunder each collected seven kills apiece, with Sawinska added four blocks. Senior Abby Huffman would secure five blocks on the day, with one being of the solo variety. Freshman Claire Isaksen also added a double-double, tossing out 19 assists with her 14 digs.
 
Manhattan was led by a 15-kill showing from graduate student Erin Hoener, while Abby Wilde collected a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. Kelly Markowski fell a kill short of a double-double, finishing with nine kills and 13 digs. Libero Ashley Chan led the Jaspers with 25 digs on the match.
 
The Saints struggled in the first set, hitting only .054 with six attack errors. That would lead to a 25-18 win for the Jaspers in the opening frame. Siena would turn it on in the second set, as Wagner would find her rhythm offensively and Halley would support the defense. With the score 8-5 early in the second set, Siena would spin off a 6-0 run that featured a trio of kills to open up a commanding 14-5 lead. They would keep their foot on the gas through the end of the set, putting up a 25-11 victory to tie the match 1-1 heading into the intermission.
 
In the third, it would be another big scoring spurt for the Saints that created some separation for a lead. Ahead 13-9 in the third, the Saints would score on seven of the next eight rallies to take a 20-10 lead. Despite two kills from Wagner, Siena was able to take advantage of Manhattan errors during the run. The lead would be enough for Siena to hold on for the 25-16 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Green and Gold would finish things off in the fourth set, despite the Jaspers putting up a solid battle. With the score at 7-7, Siena would score on six of the next seven rallies to take a 13-8 lead. But the Jaspers wouldn't go away, clawing back within a point at 19-18. But, back-to-back kills from freshman Shannon Dunkin started a 4-0 Siena rally, as the Green and Gold scored on six of the next seven rallies to tally the 25-19 victory to take the 3-1 match win.
 
The Saints are back in action tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 PM in New Rochelle as they take on Iona.