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.
 
Despite a slow start for the Saints in the first set, an early 8-1 run got things moving in their direction to an 11-7 lead. Both sides jostled for the lead until Canisius used a small 3-0 run to take a 24-23 advantage and create a set point for the Golden Griffins. However, Wunder stepped up with a kill to tie the set at 24-all. Freshman Emily Wood then proceeded to drop in a service ace before an attack error gave Siena the 26-24 win.
 
From that point, the Saints remained on the gas in the second and third sets. Halley and the Siena defense held the Golden Griffins to just 10 kills in the second set en route to a 25-17 win to go up 2-0 in the match. The Siena front line – highlighted by Wunder – found the floor on multiple occasions, with Hinkel capping the match with a clinching kill in the third as Siena claimed the win.
 
The Saints scored on 62 of their 75 points on the match, and defensively held Canisius to just one service ace. It is also the second consecutive match for Siena with at least three-players with double-digit kills.
 
The Green and Gold returns to action tomorrow at 12 p.m. against top-seeded Fairfield as the first semifinal matchup of the day. The Stags are the only team they did not defeat at least once in conference play this season.