LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — It's said that pressure makes diamonds and the Siena Volleyball passed the pressure test on Friday night as the Saints defeated Sacred Heart 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 25-16, 21-25, 15-13) in a back-and-forth thriller that needed every last ounce of effort to get a diamond performance.
Siena recovered from a 10-12 deficit in the fifth set to close out the match 15-13.
Siena went over the .500 mark at 11-10 overall and are now 6-2 in Metro play, moving into second place all alone in the standings.
Sacred Heart drops to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in Metro play.
Sophomore right side
Mary Claire Deacy played like the two-time Metro Player of the Week that she has been, scoring 31.5 points with a career-high 29 kills, 14 digs and five total blocks.
Junior setter
Abby Edwards set the table, finishing with 49 assists, 11 digs, six total blocks and five kills.
Junior outside hitter
Gabrielle Wire added 14 kills, seven digs and three blocks while redshirt senior libero
Brooke Malek protected the back line by collecting 24 digs and added six assists.
Senior middle blocker
Maggie Seymour was a force at the net, recording nine total blocks, including two solo blocks, and added six kills.
Set-by-Set
Siena built a 14-9 lead in the opening set behind a four-point service turn from Edwards, with Deacy putting down back-to-back kills during that stretch. Earlier, the Saints moved in front 3-0 and answered a 9-9 tie with
Gabrielle Wire's kill before Edwards' serve helped create the set's largest Siena cushion. Sacred Heart responded by closing within 14-13, later tying the set at 15-15 and moving ahead 18-16 before Siena continued to stay connected through kills from Deacy and Wire and a block by
Alison Goldberg and Deacy. Siena pulled within 23-22 on a Sacred Heart attack error blocked by Goldberg and Deacy, but Sacred Heart took the final two points to win the set 25-22.
A late response carried Siena from a 23-21 deficit to a 26-24 second-set win. Earlier, Siena opened with three straight points, including consecutive kills by
Gabrielle Wire, before Sacred Heart moved in front 10-6 and later led 16-13. Siena answered that mid-set deficit with four consecutive points —
Mary Claire Deacy's kill, two Sacred Heart attack errors and
Brianna Miller's kill from Deacy — to go ahead 17-16, then used kills by Seymour and Wire to reach 21-19. Sacred Heart responded with four straight points for a 23-21 lead, but Deacy's kill and a block by Goldberg and Deacy tied it at 23-23; after Sacred Heart went back in front 24-23, Deacy tied it again, Deacy and Seymour combined on a block for 25-24, and a final Sacred Heart attack error ended the set.
A 10-of-11 stretch from a 4-4 tie created Siena's decisive third-set separation, turning that score into a 14-5 advantage. Earlier, Sacred Heart opened with the first two points, but Deacy answered with two kills from Edwards and Malek added an ace as Siena moved ahead 3-2. The larger push included four straight Siena service points from
Brianna Miller, with Miller adding an ace and Seymour teaming with Wire on a block, before
Hannah Bowman served four more straight points to help extend the lead. Sacred Heart responded with four consecutive points to make it 14-9, but Wire stopped that run with a kill and Siena continued to answer with Deacy and Wire swings. After Sacred Heart got within 22-16, Siena closed the set on an Edwards-Goldberg block, a Deacy kill from Edwards and Goldberg's set-ending kill for a 25-16 win.
After a Miller kill evened the fourth set at 16-16, Sacred Heart answered with six straight points to create the separation in a 25-21 fourth-set result. Earlier, Miller opened the set with a kill from Edwards, and after Sacred Heart moved ahead 10-7, Siena put together four consecutive points behind two Deacy kills and two Sacred Heart attack errors to go in front 11-10. Siena then added back-to-back blocks involving Goldberg with Wire and Miller to stretch the edge to 13-11, and Deacy kills kept Siena ahead at 14-12 and 15-13. After the 22-16 deficit, Siena got a block from Edwards and Goldberg Deacy kill and an Edwards ace to close within 24-21 before an Edwards service error ended the set.
A fifth-set response erased a 12-9 deficit, with Siena winning six of the final seven points to take the set 15-13. Earlier, Deacy opened the set with a kill from Malek, and Siena built a 7-5 edge with help from blocks involving Seymour, Edwards and Deacy. Sacred Heart answered to tie the set at 8-8 and later moved ahead 12-9 behind a run that included four Ryleigh Short kills. Deacy started Siena's late response with a kill from Edwards, teamed with Goldberg on a block and added another kill to tie it at 12-12 before putting Siena ahead 14-13, and a Sacred Heart bad set closed the set.
Up Next
Siena will host Fairfield (14-5 overall, 8-0 Metro) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the UHY Center.
