LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Volleyball notched the most service aces it has had as a team in nearly two months, senior
Sara Wagner put forth another strong all-around performance and
Hannah Bowman slide into a new role as the Saints swept Saint Peter's 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-19) on Sunday afternoon at the UHY Center.
Siena (6-20, 5-9 MAAC) moved into a tie with Merrimack (6-18, 5-9 MAAC), who lost to Sacred Heart on Sunday, in the race for the potential eighth-and final—playoff seed of the MAAC Tournament with the final two weeks of the regular season and four games each remaining.
Siena took command early, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage with aces from
Salme Adeele Hollas and
Sina Toroslu and a kill from
Doga Diraz.
While the Peacocks (5-16, 3-11 MAAC) were able to tie it at 11-all, Siena responded with a kill from Hollas, Wagner and an ace from
Alandra Hasbrouck to eventually go up 18-13.
Olga Sawinska put down two more kills and one each from Diraz and Toroslu put Siena in position to close with a combined block from Wagner and Toroslu.
In the second set, Siena led 8-3 after back-to-back service aces from Bowman. When Saint Peter's got within 17-16, Siena went back ahead by three after a kill from Hollas to make it 20-17.
The Peacocks were able to tie the score again at 21 on a Penelope Rivera kill, but Siena got a pair of kills from Wagner. Then a Peacocks service error and a kill by Hollas sealed the set.
The third set carried out in a similar fashion with Siena storming out to an 8-2 edge with Toroslu serving and the Saints getting a consistent pass from setter
Oliwia Majtyka.
Saint Peter's went on a 4-0 run later in the set to take an 18-17 lead with kills from Rivera, Karolina Rodriguez and Valeria Pagan Munoz.
But Siena had the answer with Wagner finding the floor for two aces and then closing it out on a kill to win it.
Bowman, who moved into the libero role from her more customary outside hitter role, paid off as the sophomore produced a team-high 13 digs to tie her career-high for a single match.
The Saints' 11 services aces as a team tied for the most they've had in a match since Sept. 6 in a five-set match versus Mercyhurst.
The Saints will next hit the road to play at Quinnipiac (14-12, 11-3 MAAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
