The Siena Volleyball team competed in the opening day of their second tournament of the season, as they Green and Gold faced off with both Providence and hosts New Hampshire. The Saints would fall in both matches by a final score of 3-1.
 
MATCH 1 – Providence 3, Siena 1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-17, 25-21)
 
The Friars converted over 50 percent of their attacks in both the first and third sets to gain an advantage and take the match 3-1. However, the Saints had seven blocks to Providence's four, led by a four block effort from senior Abby Huffman.
 
"It was good to see our team rebound after dropping that first set," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "It felt like we came out a little flat and that made it even better to see the team win the second one. It seemed like we were a step slow and on our heels, and that impacted our ability to have better touches. I think everybody left this match feeling we are a better team than we showed out there today."
 
Providence's Shaliyah Rhoden led all offensive players with 19 kills on the match, while Jennifer Leitman and Emma Fink each finished in double-digits as well with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Allison Barber ran the offense to the tune of 47 assists.
 
Siena was consistent on offense, led by 13 kills from graduate student Emily Wunder and 10 kills from sophomore Greta Stjade. Junior Gracie Halley was solid on defense, collecting 15 digs while Meghan Johnsson tossed out a team-high 19 assists. Freshman Claire Isaksen also put up four aces to lead the team in that department.
 
The Saints would take a win in set two after falling 25-18 in the first set. With the Friars leading 13-12 in the second set, Siena used a 7-0 run, capitalizing on multiple Providence errors to take a 19-13 lead. However, the Friars used a 6-0 run right after that to tie things back up at 19-19. Both sides fought to a 25-25 score before Dunigan and Wunder went back-to-back with kills to send home the set 27-25.
 
MATCH 2 – New Hampshire 3, Siena 1 (25-17, 25-18, 13-25, 25-19)
 
Despite a commanding win in the third set, the Saints would fall in four to the host Wildcats. Stjade had a standout performance, a Siena season-high 17 kills. Senior Maddy Dunigan collected 11 kills and four blocks, while Emily Wunder added eight kills and four blocks. Halley also stepped up on defense again with 14 digs.
 
"We saw some really nice things tonight with our squad," said Ozols. "Some tough serving and some gritty play that we will continue to build on. The team challenged themselves tonight to keep growing and getting better and they certainly did that."
 
New Hampshire was led by Shea Purcell, as she put up 12 kills. Wren Macaulay had a double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs. Marisa Armer also contributed 10 kills as the other Wildcat in double figures.
 
The Wildcats took the first two sets with ease as they hit .407 and .542 in each of those sets. However, Siena bounced back with one-sided 25-13 win in the third set to keep things going. Stjade continued to dominate at the net, while Dunigan got in the action and scored seven kills in the set alone. Siena outhit the Wildcats 51-47 in kills and assists in 47-43.
 
The Saints will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 3 when they face Fairleigh Dickinson to close out the weekend. Opening serve for the match kicks things off at 10 a.m.