LOUDONVILLE, NY — In another test of resilience, Siena Volleyball answered the call by rallying back to defeat Canisius 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 15-9) on Saturday afternoon at the UHY Center.
Siena erased an 8-13 deficit to take a 14-13 lead in the fourth set and went on to win the set 26-24 before taking the fifth 15-9.
Siena has now matched their win total from a year ago by moving to 14-11 overall and 8-3 in Metro play with seven regular season matches yet to play. Canisius dropped to 3-18 overall and 2-9 in Metro play.
Sophomore right side
Mary Claire Deacy led Siena with 22 kills while hitting .321 and adding three service aces.
Junior setter
Abby Edwards finished with 38 assists, 19 digs, three kills and two aces. It marks Edwards' eighth double-double this season including her fifth in the past six matches.
Brooke Malek recorded a team-high 22 digs and added seven assists and two aces. The Edmonton, Alberta native has had double digit digs in all 25 matches this season.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter
Brianna Miller posted 12 kills and 11 digs for her fifth double-double this season.
Set-by-Set
Siena started the first set by building an 8-1 lead, using
Autumn Willmott's opening service ace and a 7-0 run that featured six straight points on
Brooke Malek's serve, including a Miller kill from Malek and a Malek ace. After Canisius worked back within 11-9, Siena answered with a
Gabrielle Wire kill, a Deacy block assist and kills from Deacy,
Alison Goldberg and Miller to stay in front at 18-16. Canisius tied the set at 18-18 and moved ahead 20-18, but Siena responded with a
Maggie Seymour kill, a Wire kill, a Canisius attack error and another Wire kill to take a 22-21 lead. The teams traded late points through Deacy's kill that tied the set at 23-23, before Canisius scored the final two points to take the set 25-23.
Siena overturned an 18-13 deficit in the second set, winning seven of the next eight rallies to move ahead 20-19 before closing out a 25-21 win. Earlier,
Hannah Bowman delivered back-to-back service aces to pull the Saints even at 8-8, and Deacy helped keep Siena within range with a run of kills through the middle of the set. After Canisius pushed in front 18-13, Deacy served Siena back into the set with an ace, kills by Miller and Deacy, and a Canisius attack error that tied it at 18-18. Miller later added a service ace for a 22-19 Siena lead, Wire supplied a late kill, and Deacy finished the set with a kill from Malek.
Siena erased a 9-6 deficit and briefly moved ahead in the third set, but Canisius rebuilt the margin in the middle stages and held on for a 25-21 set win. After
Alison Goldberg's block helped Siena take the opening point, Canisius pushed in front 9-6 before a service error opened a Siena response led by Deacy and Edwards. Deacy put down two kills around an Edwards service ace to give Siena a 10-9 lead, and Wire answered a Canisius point with another kill for an 11-10 edge. The set stayed level through 13-13 before Canisius moved ahead 21-16, and Siena's late push included a Miller kill and back-to-back Deacy aces to close within 24-21 before Canisius finished the set.
Siena erased a 13-7 deficit in the fourth set with seven straight points, including six on
Brooke Malek's serve, to move ahead 14-13 after Malek's ace. Deacy helped Siena steady the set with kills at 15-14, 23-22 and 24-23, while Wire added two kills and teamed with Goldberg on a block during the middle stages. Siena also built a 21-17 lead behind a Wire kill, the Goldberg-Wire block and a
Doga Diraz kill before Canisius came back to tie the set at 21-21. After Canisius forced another tie at 24-24, Miller put Siena back in front with a kill and Diraz finished the 26-24 set win with a block on the final point.
After trading points to a 4-4 tie, Siena created separation in the fifth set with kills from Wire and Deacy, an Edwards service ace and an
Autumn Willmott ace on the way to an 11-5 lead. Goldberg and Deacy also combined on a block during that stretch, and Deacy repeatedly finished swings set by Edwards. Canisius answered with three straight points to get within 11-8 and later made it 12-9, but Siena closed the set with a Deacy kill, a Miller kill and a Diraz kill. Siena won the fifth set 15-9.
Up Next
Siena, who is tied for second place in the Metro standings with Quinnipiac, visits Marist (11-12 overall, 6-4 Metro) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
