LOUDONVILLE, NY – Embarking on year two of the coach Simone Asque-Favia regime, Siena Volleyball will open its 45^th varsity season Friday and Saturday at the Hofstra Invitational at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center in Hempstead, NY. 

The invitational will feature matches against three different well-tested opponents with the season kickstarting against the host Pride on Friday at 6 p.m.

It'll be the first meeting against Hofstra since 2016. 

Hofstra went 17-12 a season ago in the Colonial Athletic Association and qualified for the CAA Tournament before falling to William & Mary in a quarterfinal match.

The Pride return five upperclassmen to their squad. 

The Saints last defeated Hofstra in a sweep in 1995, the same season in which it was crowned MAAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions.

This marks the earliest start to a season since 2018 when it opened against Loyola (MD) on August 24.   

The Saints will also take on a pair of opponents that they'll be meeting in third all-time meetings. 

Saturday's match ups feature a day-night doubleheader versus Delaware State, a 24-game winner who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, at 11 a.m. followed by a meeting with NJIT at 4:30 p.m. 

The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Saints 2-0 while Siena holds a 2-0 advantage against the Highlanders. 

Delaware State enters as a younger team with eight freshmen and 10 sophomores on the roster after graduating five student-athletes from its roster last season.  They also named a new head coach in David Brooks.   

NJIT will look to improve upon its' 8-21 finish from a season ago competing in the America East Conference. 

The Highlanders have a mixed class sporting two graduate students, two seniors and four juniors, sophomores and freshmen apiece. 

All matches will be available streaming on FloSports.

Live updates will be also be available by following @SienaVB on Twitter for all three matches.

The Saints were modestly projected to finish seventh among 10 teams in the 2023 MAAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll despite coming off a season in which it finished the regular season standings tied for fifth with a 10-8 conference record and a postseason run that resulted in a MAAC Semifinals finish. 

Siena returns 11 student-athletes including All-MAAC Second Team selection Sara Wagner, one of the top facilitators in the conference in Claire Isaksen, defensive stalwart Ece Emrullah and three-year letterwinner Meghan Johnsson.

Coach Asque-Favia has also added two promising transfers and six freshmen to this year's squad as well.