The Siena Volleyball team saw their season come to a close on Friday evening, as they fell to the Rider Broncs by a final score of 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17) in the MAAC Semifinals at the Albany Capital Center.
Senior
Dakota Jackson and freshman
Alexa Withun ended strong with 14 kills apiece, while
Hailey Hinkel and
Maddy Dunigan each finished with seven kills. Sophomores
Gracie Halley and
Madoka Weldon each finished with double-digit digs, as Halley earned 13 while Weldon added 12.
Rider had five players finish with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Morgan Romano with 16 kills. Caprice Clarke finished with 13 kills and five blocks, while senior Danielle Blanco finished with 22 digs. Anilee Sher tossed out 56 assists for the Broncs across the four sets.
Rider controlled most of the first set, as the Saints stayed within reach throughout the set. With a block from Stjade and
Kelly Brann, Siena would pull even at 15-15 before Rider once again jumped out to a lead. The Broncs would get a 4-0 from that point and keep the lead the rest of the way en route to a 25-21 win in the set.
The Saints jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set. The Green and Gold kept the momentum going and used a 5-0 run to open a 13-6 lead. Freshman
Meghan Johnsson would mix in a pair of aces in the run, aiding in the Siena momentum. Hinkel would play a big role down the stretch, getting three kills in the final five points for the Green and Gold. The Saints would take the second set 25-21.
The third set was a see-saw battle between the two teams, as neither team saw a lead larger than three points the whole set until Rider scored a trio of points to force set point at 24-19. A kill from Romano would give Rider the 25-20 set victory to go up 2-1. Despite a comeback in the fourth set, Rider pulled away in the set and shut the door on the Saints to take the match with a 25-17 win in the set.
The Broncs finished with an attack percentage of .359 to Siena's .220. However, the Saints were effective on the serve as the Green and Gold had 10 total aces compared to Rider's one.
