LOUDONVILLE, NY – While the results have yet to appear in the win column, Siena head volleyball coach
Simone Asque-Favia knows full well what her teams are capable of and has put a value on learning from this season's early slate of games in the three tournaments they've played up to this point in the season.
In playing in tournaments hosted by Hofstra, Bryant and St. John's, the hope is that the Saints will have learned more about themselves, toughened its' skin against some quality opponents and are getting closer toward realizing their potential.
Last season's script played out in that way with Siena starting 0-7 before hitting its stride, winning eight straight matches and making a MAAC Postseason Semifinal run.
"In the grand scheme, we can learn from all our matches," said coach Asque-Favia. "There can be gains from losses. We were able to do that last season, but it was a grind when we won eight straight. We'll have to shine and rise from the grind again. We're going to need a whole commitment and we need our leadership to stand tall right now."
On Wednesday, Siena (0-9) will receive a start to that opportunity when it hosts another team seeking its first win in Saint Peter's (0-10) in the Saints' home and conference opener at the UHY Center at 6 p.m.
The match is being supported by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) with a tailgate planned and a welcome back-to-school appreciation as the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free gold bucket hat.
The match will also be broadcasted by ESPN+ with Siena College's own Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Kelly O'Donnell and Sarah Sivertson '13, who is an alum of Siena Volleyball, on the call.
Siena leads the all-time series with Saint Peter's 40-14 and were able to sweep the season series in 2022 with a four-set victory in Jersey City, NJ and a three-set win in Loudonville.
Leading the Saints in kills are junior outside hitter
Sara Wagner (73 kills, 2.35 kills per set on .098 hitting percentage, junior right side
Olga Sawinska (65 kills, 2.10 kills per set on a .149 hitting percentage) and redshirt junior middle blocker
Sina Toroslu (30 kills, .097 kills per set on a .215 hitting percentage).
Siena has utilized a rotation of setters with
Meghan Johnsson (86 assists, 3.19 assists per set),
Oliwia Majtyka (59 assists, 2.68 assists per set) and
Claire Isaksen (55 assists, 3.06 assists per set).
Defensively, Toroslu and Sawinska had tallied 26 total blocks apiece while sophomore libero
Emily Wood leads the team in digs with 63.
The Peacocks' top hitters include sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Tucker (54 kills, 2.08 kills per set on a .090 hitting percentage), sophomore middle blocker Morgan Thurlow (51 kills, 1.70 kills per set on a .230 hitting percentage) and redshirt freshman right side Georgia Remmers (38 kills, 1.36 kills per set on a .137 hitting percentage).
Sophomore Lilly Konrad had taken on the bulk of the passing with a team-high 108 assists and 3.72 assists per set. Freshman Savina Trujillo has also contributed with 47 assists and 2.61 assists per set.
On defense, Thurlow has a team-best 25 total blocks while freshman libero Crystal Nguyen is the leader in digs with 54 and 3.00 digs per set.
Fans can also follow along via live stats and on-site social media updates by following Siena Volleyball for live updates on X (formerly Twitter) account @SienaVB.
