LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Siena Volleyball team opened their weekend by hosting The Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Siena Invitational at the UHY Center on Friday afternoon. While the day was a success of the court, the Saints fell to both Saint Francis and Delaware State in their two matches on the afternoon.
 
MATCH 1 – Saint Francis 3, Siena 2 (25-14, 17-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-7)
 
A hard bought battle throughout, the Saints pushed things into the fifth set. After solid second and third sets that brought them a step from victory, Siena hit a combined to hit just a three percent on offense the rest of the way.
 
"It was good to see our team get into a tense and competitive five set match," said Ozols. "We competed the whole time and this type of pressure situation helped our team to get better and to grow in spite of the loss."
 
Graduate student Emily Wunder went off for her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs all while sophomore Greta Stjade added 10 as the two were the only Saints in double figures. Freshman Claire Isaksen tossed out a solid 30 assists on the match, while junior Gracie Halley (11) and freshman Sara Wagner (10) joined Stjade in double figure digs.
 
Nicole Adams made her presence know, as she scored 23 kills and five digs en route to victory. Madi Tyrus was also strong, putting up 16 kills. On the defensive side of the ball, the Red Flash had three in double figures, led by Maggie Means with 21 digs.
 
The Saints would take wins in the second and third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match at one point, taking the third set 25-23 in a close battle. With things knotted at 19-19, Wunder took matters into her own hands with three kills mixed in with a Red Flash attack error to give Siena the upper hand at 22-19. However in set four and five, the Saints fell victim to the error bug, as they would fall in both and drop the match.
 
MATCH 2 – Delaware State 3, Siena 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-19)
 
The long layoff for the Saints during the day would not pay dividends, as it would be all Hornets as Siena fell in straight sets to close out Friday's slate of action.
 
The Green and Gold would hit in a total negative percentage all night despite a sparking .375 percentage from senior Maddy Dunigan. Dunigan finished with a team high seven kills. Defensively, Halley provided nine digs on the nightcap.
 
The Hornets saw Alondra Maldonado break out with 10 kills, while Kristi Gomez played a solid all-around game with seven kills and 12 digs. Jasmal Cruz was the standout defensively, scooping 19 digs. The Hornets were strong at the net as a unit, with eight total team blocks.
 
Siena struggled to get anything going early, as Delaware State had an answer for each move the Saints made. The Saints also had plenty of errors, leading to the deficits. The Hornets also led the way in aces, putting up 11 to Siena's two.
 
The Saints will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 11 when the Saints return back to the UHY Center to wrap up the weekend's events with a showdown with the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN3. Previous to Siena's game, the Hornets and Red Flash will face off at 11 a.m.