LOUDONVILLE, NY – Picked to finish seventh in the MAAC this season, the Siena Volleyball team are set and prepared to take on the league's championship bracket as the No. 5 seed. After defeating the fifth-seeded Canisius Golden Griffins 3-0 on Friday afternoon, the Saints will now face the top-seeded Fairfield Stags in the semifinals at 12 p.m.
Leading into the tournament, the Saints were fortunate to see both graduate student
Emily Wunder and sophomore
Sara Wagner take home All-MAAC Second Team honors. The duo are the first All-MAAC second team honorees since 2017, and the first duo to earn selections since 2015.
Wagner became one of the league's top outside hitters this season, finishing the regular season ranked eighth in the MAAC with 3.55 points per set, and 3.07 kills per set. The Bielsko-Biala, Poland native was also one of the league's best in service aces, averaging 0.37 service aces per set. Wagner led the Saints with 322 total kills on the season.
The first graduate transfer in program history when she arrived in Loudonville last season, Wunder will leave the program garning her first All-MAAC selection. Ranking second on the team to only Wagner in total kills with 311, the right side made her mark offensively. The Penn Yan, New York native collected 16 kills in a three-set sweep of Iona earlier this season – which was the fourth-most in a three-set match in the league this season.
In addition, the Saints had eight student-athletes named to the MAAC All-Academic Team -
Hailey Hinkel,
Claire Isaksen,
Meghan Johnsson,
Olga Sawinska, Wagner,
Madoka Weldon,
Grace Wilhelm, and Wunder.
Graduate student
Emily Wunder helped support her selection as an All-MAAC Second Team honoree Thursday afternoon, as the No. 5 seed Siena Volleyball team defeated the No. 4 seed Canisius Golden Griffins by a final score of 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-20) in the MAAC Semifinals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Wunder collected a team-high 15 kills on a .406 attack percentage, helping the Saints to a .285 hitting percentage on the match. Junior
Hailey Hinkel and sophomore
Sara Wagner each garnered 12 kills each, with Wagner also tallying 10 digs for a double-double. Sophomore
Claire Isaksen was strong as setter, tossing out 43 assists. Senior
Gracie Halley led the defensive effort, putting up 31 digs while Wunder added four blocks to her resume.
Siena will face off with Fairfield for the 69
th time overall. The Stags hold a 50-18 advantage in the series history, as the Stags won both matchups in the series in 2022 and have won the last 19 meetings. Siena's last win came in October of 2014 in Fairfield with a 3-1 win. All-time in the MAAC Tournament, the two programs will meet for the 17th time, with the Stags holding a 10-6 lead in that series. The Stags ended the Saints' 2021 season in the MAAC Tournament in the UHY Center in Loudonville. The last win the Saints have over Fairfield in the MAAC Tournament came in the title game in 2008 - a win that capped Siena's second run of four-straight MAAC Championships. The game also took place in Loudonville, as Siena took a 3-0 win.
Junior Burgandy McCurty, the Tournament MVP and two-time MAAC Offensive Player of the year at that point, posted 13 kills and 12 digs to help key the win. Kelly Hummel also had 13 kills for the Saints. It was the fourth straight year Siena had defeated Fairfield in the title match, and the first time the Saints had captured the crown on their home court since 1996.
Fairfield - picked to win the league in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll - sports newly minted and back-to-back MAAC Player of the Year KJ Johnson at the front of their program. Finishing the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and 17-1 league record, the Stags once again took the league's top seed. They moved on to Friday's semifinal round with a 3-1 victory over the No. 8 seed Niagara on Thursday. Johnson finished the match with 19 kills, and Ella Gardiner added 15 kills and eight blocks.
Friday's match will be live streamed on ESPN3, which is available to watch by clicking the corresponding link. Fans can also follow the match by following the corresponding live stats links, or by following courtside twitter updates on @SienaVB.
