LOUDONVILLE, NY – The serve game was on point and the back line of the Siena defense held strong down the stretch as the Saints volleyball team enjoyed another 3-0 victory in topping Manhattan (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) at the UHY Center on Saturday afternoon.   

It gives the Saints (7-10 overall, 3-2 MAAC) more wins than it had all of last season under first-year head coach Tyler Kanelos and also puts Siena over the .500 mark in conference play for the first time since 2022. 

Sophomore Alara Doganyuz led the Saints with 19 assists, five digs and four aces while junior Doga Diraz had a team-high 12 kills, five digs and two aces.

Freshman Mary Claire Deacy turned in a clean sheet with eight kills and no attack errors for a .400 hitting percentage. 

On the back line, the Saints got a lift from graduate student Elizabeth Phillips, who had 14 digs, and freshman Natalia Clifford, who contributed 11 digs as well as Amelia Robertson, who produced nine digs.

Gabrielle Wire added nine kills and a pair of blocks. 

With Manhattan leading 12-11 in the opening set, Siena stormed back with a key 6-0 run with Doganyuz serving two aces and Wire knocking down two kills. 

The Jaspers answered back with a 7-1 run to capture a 22-20 lead with two kills from Emma Francesconi, but Siena picked up five of the final six points with a kill from Clifford off an assist from Alandra Hasbrouck and a block by Deacy to seal it.

In the second set, Manhattan lead 15-12 off a 4-0 spurt with Hanna Kaczynska serving behind the line. Siena bounced back by taking the next four points with a kill from Phillips and a series of attack errors from the Jaspers. 

With it tied at 18 all, Siena went ahead with Doganyuz serving an ace during a 4-0 run.  A service error by Manhattan sealed the set for the Saints.

Siena took a 9-5 lead after a pair of kills off the hand of Deacy and then won 9 of 11 points with the serving of Willmott and Phillips. 

The Jaspers closed within 22-20 on three consecutive kills from Fiona VanDyke, but the Saints were able to finish it with kills from Wire, Deacy and Diraz. 

Manhattan (2-12, 0-5 MAAC) was led by VanDyke, who had 13 kills and 13 digs, and Francesconi, who had 11 kills. 

Next up, Siena plays a non-conference match at cross town rival UAlbany (6-9) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.