LOUDONVILLE, NY – The road to a MAAC Championship begins at the UHY Center Friday morning, as the No. 8 Siena Saints take on the No. 1 Fairfield Stags in the first match of the tournament at 11 a.m. Friday morning. The Saints will be looking to clinch the program's 10
th MAAC Championship. The winner of the matchup will square off with either No. 4 Canisius or No. 5 Niagara on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Siena is 30-21 all-time in the MAAC Tournament, appearing in their 26
th tournament. The Saints won championships from 1993-96, as well as from 2005-08, with the ninth win coming in 2014. The last championship would come in a 3-2 victory over Marist down at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney in Orlando, Florida.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with
Joe Mixie and
Sarah Sivertson on the call. Continuous in-game sideline updates will be provided via the volleyball team's official twitter page @SienaVB. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACVB.
Graduate student
Emily Wunder stepped up for a new career-high 19 kills as the Siena Volleyball team came out with a 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13) victory over the Marist Red Foxes at the UHY Center in the team's season finale. Wunder added six digs and six blocks to her resume, while freshman
Olga Sawinska notched 13 kills. Senior
Abby Huffman had nine kills and five assisted blocks, while sophomore
Greta Stjade collected eight kills and 12 digs. Junior
Gracie Halley led the defensive effort, scoring 24 digs in the win.
On Thursday, freshman
Olga Sawinska was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, as announced by the league Thursday morning. Sawinska appeared in 28 of the Saints 29 matches this season, starting in 18 of them. She finished the regular season with 195 kills, which ranked third on the Saints. She also tallied 58 total blocks, ranking fourth on the team as well. On the right side, she also collected 44 digs this season. With her efforts, Sawinska earned one MAAC Rookie of the Week honor on the week on Sept. 28.
Fairfield Volleyball secured its conference-record 20th MAAC Regular Season Championship with a 16-2 league mark this fall as a part of the 21-8 overall tally. The Stags clinched the top seed in the league by two games over second-place Rider, who they swept twice during the campaign. The Stags now have won three straight MAAC Championships, six of the last seven, and eight of the last 10. Head Coach Todd Kress has been at the helm for nine of Fairfield's MAAC Regular Season Championships (1996, 1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, spring 2021, 2021).
Siena and Fairfield will meet for the 66
th time, with the Stags holding a 47-18 advantage over the Saints. That record includes the Stags two wins this season. Fairfield has won the last 16 matchup between the schools, with the last Siena win coming on Oct. 4, 2014 in a 3-1 win at Fairfield.
All spectators aged 12 and older must be fully vaccinated to be able to attend, and be able to show proof of vaccination and identification upon entry. Full vaccination status is defined as having completed the COVID-19 vaccination series at least 14 days prior to the date of the game. Proof of full vaccination can be presented through paper form, digital application, or the State's Excelsior Pass upon entering the UHY Center. Proof of Identification can include: Driver's License, Siena College ID, or Passport. Masks are strongly recommended for fully vaccinated individuals, and mandatory for unvaccinated children under the age of 12. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult, and children ages 2-11 will need to wear a mask, except when actively eating or drinking.
This policy is guided by the alert level established by Siena College's COVID-19 Operations Team and is subject to change based on current conditions. Siena College and the athletic department will continue to monitor developments and alert spectators of any adjustments made to this policy.
