NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Siena Volleyball had leads in each of the first two sets and tied it late into the fourth set, but could not come up with the big plays down the stretch in each as the Saints dropped a tough one to Merrimack 3-1 (22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 23-25) on Saturday afternoon at the Sakowich Center.
Siena totaled 52 kills and hit .166, while Merrimack finished with 58 kills, a .184 hitting percentage and held a 91-79 edge in digs.
Merrimack won for the second straight night, upping their mark to 2-18 overall and 2-5 in Metro play after defeating Metro opponent Marist a night earlier.
Siena (10-10 overall, 5-2 Metro) was led by senior right side
Doga Diraz, who provided a humongous spark off the bench—producing 12 kills on a .550 hitting percentage in just two sets of work to help Siena climb back into the match with an opportunity to force a fifth set.
However, Siena could not string the points together in the closing moments as a pair of Merrimack kills, a Siena attacking errors and a Merrimack ace sealed it.
Sophomore right side
Mary Claire Deacy recorded 16 kills, 11 digs, two blocks and one ace.
Junior outside hitter
Gabrielle Wire matched the team high with 16 kills.
Junior setter
Abby Edwards finished with 28 assists, 11 digs and one ace.
Redshirt senior libero
Brooke Malek collected a team-best 19 digs and added four assists.
Set-by-Set
Siena built a 19-14 lead in the first set behind repeated swings from Wire and Deacy, but Merrimack answered with five straight points to tie it at 19-19 and later finished off a 25-22 set. Earlier, Siena opened with the first two points and stayed in front through the middle of the set, getting kills from Deacy,
Brianna Miller, Wire and
Maggie Seymour while Edwards handled much of the distribution. Deacy and Miller each added aces, and Wire also contributed on the block during Siena's push to a 12-8 advantage. After Merrimack moved ahead late, Miller tied the set at 21-21 with a kill from Wire, but the home team scored three of the next four points before closing the set on Naomi Vajda's kill.
Siena's biggest push in the second set came with Miller at the service line, as the visitors erased a 16-14 deficit and moved in front 19-16 behind two Wire kills, a Merrimack attack error and a Miller ace. Earlier, Siena had also answered a 5-2 hole, getting kills from Seymour, Miller and Deacy during a stretch that put it ahead 7-6. Merrimack later built a 12-8 edge, but Siena continued to work back with Deacy, Miller and Wire providing kills through the middle of the set. After Siena led 19-16, Merrimack scored five straight points to go ahead 21-19, and although Wire added a kill to keep Siena within one, Merrimack closed out the set 25-21.
Siena overturned a 15-12 deficit with Malek at the service line, scoring four straight service points during a seven-of-eight stretch to move ahead 17-15 on a Deacy kill. Earlier, Siena fell behind 5-0 before Deacy, Seymour and
Doga Diraz helped trim Merrimack's lead to 6-4. After Merrimack built the margin back to 14-10, Deacy and Wire kept Siena within reach, and Malek's ace helped fuel the push that put Siena in front. Merrimack tied the set at 17-17, but Siena answered with late production from Diraz, including three kills and a shared block with Seymour, before Wire's kill brought set point. A Merrimack attack error finished Siena's 25-20 third-set win.
Siena put together a 6-0 run from 19-13 down to tie the fourth set at 19-19, getting four Diraz kills, a
Hannah Bowman ace and a Wire kill while Bowman served the final five points of the stretch. Earlier, Diraz helped Siena stay close with consecutive kills during a push from 6-4 down to a 7-6 lead, and Wire's kill from
Oliwia Majtyka gave Siena that one-point edge. Merrimack later stretched its lead to 17-10, but Siena kept working back, first with a Deacy kill from Edwards and then with the late scoring surge. After the 19-19 tie, Siena evened the set again at 20-20 and 21-21 on a service error and another Wire kill, then answered a 24-21 deficit with a Merrimack attack error and Deacy's kill. Merrimack closed the set on Jocelyn Hammerstrand's kill for a 25-23 finish.
Up Next
Siena will host Sacred Heart (11-7, 4-2 Metro) this Friday at 6 p.m. from the UHY Center.
