The Siena Volleyball team opened their 2021 fall season at the Rumble in the Rockies, hosted by the University of Wyoming. The Saints would fall to both the Saint Mary's Gaels and Wyoming Cowgirls by final scores of 3-0 in each match in the first day of action at the tournament. Graduate student Emily Wunder compiled 12 kills over the two matches to lead the way offensively for the Green and Gold.
 
MATCH 1 – Saint Mary's 3, Siena 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-11)
 
The Gaels took advantage of some early Siena mistakes and were able to take the win in three sets. Leading the way for the Saints was Wunder with four kills, alongside freshman Olga Sawinska who also collected four kills. Freshman Sara Wagner led the Saints in digs with seven.
 
"We met a high quality team in Saint Mary's, and I was proud of the way our team learned and grew during this match today," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "We had balanced contributions from both our newcomers and our returners. In spite of the loss, this squad is very optimistic for our future as we continue to grow and develop."
 
Saint Mary's had Hawley Harrer and Megan Chandler each had seven kills apiece, while Ella Sandt tossed out 20 assists. Kelsey Knudsen scooped seven digs as the Gaels tallied 43 total kills to the Saints 20. The Gaels also connected on five service aces.
 
Siena struggled on offense throughout the match, compiling 18 attack errors to 20 total kills. However, the Saints played solid defense with 25 digs, led by Wagner and junior Gracie Halley getting in the action with five.
 
MATCH 2 – Wyoming 3, Siena 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-17)
 
Blocks were the name of the game for the host Cowgirls, as they totaled 16 total blocks in the match to take down the Saints in straight sets.
 
"Our match tonight shows that Wyoming is one of the great environments to play volleyball in," said Ozols. "With this being the first weekend of play, it was clear that we have things we know we can work on. We are who we are at this point in time but we really like where we are going and we know our team is going to work hard to get there."
 
Wunder once again showed out for Siena, scoring eight kills with a block assist to lead the way. The trio of Sawinska, Stjade, and Abby Huffman each collected four kills apiece, while freshman Claire Isaksen led the team defensively with seven digs. Meghan Johnsson also tossed out 12 assists.
 
Wyoming was led by an eight kill performance from Naya Shime. Teresa Garza backed that up with seven kills and a team-high eight digs. Payton Chamberlain led the team in assists with 15. Shime and Kayla Mazzocca were everywhere at the net, each having a hand in five of the Cowgirls 16 total team blocks.
 
Despite a slow start that saw the Saints collect nine attack errors and only six kills in the first set, Siena picked up their play in the second and third set despite falling in both. Siena would fight back from an early third set deficit, as they score stood 13-6. A kill from Huffman started a 5-0 run, and that brought the Saints back within two, 13-11. But Wyoming put their foot back on the gas and closed things out late on a pair of Siena errors.
 
The Saints will return to action tomorrow, Saturday August 28 when they face Wyoming once more in their third and final matchup in the Rumble in the Rockies. Opening serve goes up at 12 PM Eastern Time.