It was a heart breaker followed by heartache on Saturday for the Saints Volleyball team in the Red Flash Classic hosted by Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA on Saturday. 

Siena lost its matinee match to Penn 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 15-17) after taking control early and then fell in the nightcap against the hosts St. Francis (PA) 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-13) on the second and final day played at DeGol Arena.

The Saints (1-5) had the look of a winning formula against the Quakers (1-1) who compete in the Ivy League.  Siena started fast, winning the opening two sets with efficient play by hitting .286 and .314 in each set and produced 13 and 15 kills.

However, Siena lost its momentum, shrinking its kill number down to only nine in each of the next three sets.  With it, the amount of errors also increased, swinging inaccurately on six, 10 and then six errors again in the final three sets after committing only three and four errors in the opening two frames.

It spoiled a huge performance by Sara Wagner, who produced one of her biggest matches of her career with 18 kills (two off her career-high mark) to go along with nine digs and two aces. Wagner followed that up with a team-high 11 kills against SFU later in the day.  Wagner was named as one of seven members to the Red Flash Classic All-Tournament Team for her weekend of work. 

Others on the team broke through with stronger performances shown after last week's opening matches.

Sophomore transfer Maggie Seymour had a breakout performance with a season-high 11 kills on a sparkling .450 hitting percentage. 

Senior Grace Wilhelm shined in the libero spot, shattering her previous record for digs in a single match with 29.  Wilhelm's previous high was 14 digs set back on Oct. 9, 2021 against Niagara. 

Oliwia Majtyka and Alandra Hasbrouck each set new season highs in assists with 22 and 20, respectively. 

Siena grabbed an 11-10 lead in the fifth set after a kill by Wagner and an attacking error by Penn, but the Quakers were able to take it down the stretch with a pair of kills from Adell Murray and a finishing kill by Feyi Ogunlair. 

Late Match
Saint Francis (PA) 3, Siena 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-13)
In the nightcap, the Red Flash (3-3) overcame a 5-0 run to start the match from the Saints with setter Alandra Hasbrouck behind the service line. 

After Penn took a 21-19 lead, Sonja Meyer came up with a kill and an error attack by SFU made it 21-all.  The Red Flash closed it highlighted by a pair of kills from Korrin Burns and an ace from Maggie Hogan. 

In the second set, SFU raced out an 8-1 lead with two aces from Alexandra Sappia.  The Saints would get as close as a five-point deficit, but no closer the remainder of the set. 

The third set played out to a 9-7 advantage for SFU, but the Red Flash would outscore Siena 16-7 for the rest of the set to earn the win. 

Siena hit .040 for the match while SFU hit .264.  Burns led all scorers with 14 kills while Hogan added nine kills, seven digs and a pair of aces. 

Wagner made it five straight matches with at least double-digit kills while Seymor chipped in with four kills. 

Siena returns to action this coming Thursday for its home opener at the UHY Center when it hosts Syracuse at 5:30 p.m. to open the Siena Saints Invitational. 

Idaho and NJIT will also compete in a round robin format with six matches played over a three-day period.