LOUDONVILLE, NY – After splitting their opening weekend of MAAC play at home last Saturday and Sunday, the Siena Volleyball team is geared up for another conference weekend as they get set to host the Quinnipiac Bobcats (Saturday, 3 PM) and defending MAAC Champion Fairfield Stags (Sunday, 3 PM) at the UHY Center.
Siena is coming off a commanding 3-0 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers last Sunday at the UHY Center. Sophomore
Sara Wagner led the Siena offense with her second double-double of the year, finishing with 15 kills and 13 digs.
Graduate student
Emily Wunder added 12 kills.
Claire Isaksen tossed out 28 assists, while the Saints put up 15 total service aces – a new season-high. As a team, the Saints also put up a season-high .429 attack percentage – all while committing only eight attack errors on the match.
The Saints currently sit first in the MAAC in opponent kills per set, only allowing 11.38 kills per set. Siena also ranks first in the league in service aces, putting up 2.25 aces per set – the only team in the league over a 2.0. Iona – sitting in second – sits at 1.67. The Saints continue to climb up the ladder in most categories, sitting top five in hitting percentage (5
th - .169), assists per set (5
th – 10.38), kills per set (5
th – 11.18), and digs (4
th – 14.15).
Individually, sophomore
Ece Emrullah is among the league's best in hitting percentage (4
th - .295), while
Gracie Halley reps the defensive game for the Green and Gold, ranking third in digs per set (4.25). However, sophomore
Sara Wagner sits with the league's best players in points – which combines kills, aces, and blocks – sitting seventh with a 3.45 points per set average.
Siena and Quinnipiac meet for the 26
th time on Saturday, with Siena holding a 17-8 advantage. However, the Bobcats are winners in the last three matches. The last Siena win over Quinnipiac came in a five-set thriller at the UHY Center that led to a 3-2 Siena win on Sept. 21, 2019. Current senior
Madoka Weldon turned out a career-high 24 digs in that game as a freshman, with former Saints
Maddy Dunigan and
Abby Huffman helping the Saints to a combined 14 team blocks.
The Saints will face off with the Stags for the 67
th time in a matchup that commenced back in 1987. Fairfield holds a 48-18 advantage over the Saints (including 17 straight matches), with the last Siena win coming back on Oct. 4, 2014. The Saints took a 3-1 victory on the road over the Stags behind a 16-kill effort from junior Meghann Wright and 21 digs from Bobbi Lin Kalama. The last victory for the Saints over Fairfield in Loudonville came in 2012 in a 3-1 victory.
The "Voice of the Saints"
Emmanuel Berbari has the call of the match alongside
Sarah Sivertson (Saturday) and James Hosley (Sunday) on ESPN3, which is available to watch by clicking the corresponding link. Thursday's contest marks the first of five Siena Volleyball home games this fall which are scheduled to be broadcast on the ESPN Family of Networks.
